His name has been a mainstay for years in matchday squads, with this season being his 17th with the province, and he was also an important member of the Irish national side in the previous decade – particularly under Joe Schmidt.

Head Coach Leo Cullen described him as a “hugely influential” figure in the squad at the beginning of the season, noting that he had given the side a talk ahead of their United Rugby Championship match against Glasgow Warriors in October.

The 35-year-old underlined how he sees his role within the squad at Monday’s press conference.

“I’m just a player in the squad, obviously,” Toner said. “Whenever I’m picked to play, I do my best.

“Whenever I’m not picked to play, I do my best to prepare the lads which is like obviously, whoever we’re playing, the opposition we’re playing, we have to prepare their lineouts and prepare them in the game and do what they can.

“I’d like to think the young lads would look up to what I’ve done and, you know, the games that I’ve played and see me as a source of knowledge if they like and ask me whatever they want.

“I’d like to think I’m a bit of an open book for the younger lads and I suppose an ear and a bit of knowledge for them. Hopefully anyway.”

Among the younger lads in the squad is lock Jack Dunne, a 23-year-old who shares the same position as Toner.

Dunne will play for the Barbarians this weekend in Twickenham where they will face Samoa.

The Trinity College forward is coming off of a major ankle injury and returned to action in the All-Ireland League last weekend, with the Baa-Baas now set to make up the next stage of his comeback.

“I’m absolutely delighted for Dunners. He’s had his time with injury in the last while after breaking his ankle and stuff.

“He is a great player and [he’s only 23] but it seems like he has been around for ages. He’s some character, man, and I think he definitely is one for the future.

“He used to be a bit of a lump to try and lift last year but I think, after he got injured he’s kind of leaned down and he you can fly him up in the air now anyway.

“I’d be delighted to see how he gets on with the Barbarians – him and Rob [Kearney] back together again.”

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Ireland’s most decorated rugby player is in the twilight of his career after spending 15 years at provincial side Leinster. After over 200 competitive appearances for the club and nearly a century of caps for the Boys in Green he felt it was time to try something new.

Before returning to his boyhood Gaelic football club Cooley Kickhams for a few games, he spent six months down under playing for Western Force.

Speaking at a media event for the new season of rugby on Premier Sport yesterday, Kearney spoke about his short stay in Australia:

“I had a great time away in Australia. It was almost the perfect final six months for me to get away and I’d always planned to play outside Ireland, and I suppose the older I got and the longer my contracts with Leinster and the [Irish Rugby] Union went on, the less likely it became.”

Rob Kearney has just scored his first Super Rugby try for the Western Force.

Great draw and pass from Kyle Godwin, Domingo Miotti and Richard Kahui to move the ball into the space here#BLUvFOR #SuperRugbyTT #IrishAbroad pic.twitter.com/pCSoc3wnQd

— EK Rugby Analysis (@ek_rugby) June 12, 2021

The Louth man only managed eight caps while playing for the Perth club, scoring a single try against the Blues.

The accomplished defender noted the challenges when moving to the new club. He understood that Southern hemisphere rugby was more focused on attack than defense and he knew he could still improve in places.

“[If] you’re a 35-year-old fullback, the changes have already been made for you, I was down there very much with the mindset that aerial game, kicking game, backfield coverages was going to be the areas, to play my strengths,” added Kearney.

Rob Kearney had form in this area of course.

Remember that time he did this from a similar position of the pitch for Ireland ‘A’ against New Zealand Maori in 2006. pic.twitter.com/8Kxyqlv4yf

— Cian Tracey (@CianTracey1) April 14, 2020

While in Australia, he also found some of the cultural differences to be a shock. Although the Wallabies have been a powerhouse in international rugby for many years, it is still not one of the more popular sports in the country.

Union rugby has to compete with the ASL, cricket, and emerging soccer to get more schoolboys and girls playing the game in the fields.

Because of this, Kearney understands the importance of the nation’s double victory of the Springbok, especially the home win on Saturday.

“It is very different, Rugby Union is very much down the pecking order, and you do feel for the Australians a little bit that the game is under real pressure there,” the rugby player added.

“That’s why that win at the weekend was huge for them, not just from that group of players but for the game as a whole in the country,”

The post Kearney opens up on ‘perfect’ stay with Western Force appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Kearney joins a star-studded line-up of Premier Sports pundits for its Irish rugby coverage including fellow former internationals Stephen Ferris and Andrew Trimble. They will appear with the experienced TV team of Bernard Jackman, Graham Little, Mark Robson, and lead Irish commentator Ryle Nugent.

As Ireland’s most decorated player ever, Rob Kearney (93 caps) won four Six Nations titles, four Heineken Cups, six PRO 12/14 trophies, and one European Challenge Cup plus was named 2012 European Rugby Player of the year.

Kearney was also part of two Lions Tours in 2009 and 2013.  He played for Leinster for 15 seasons with more than 200 appearances for his home province.

Rob Kearney has just got his first Super Rugby win with the Western Force.

It's the Western Force's first Super Rugby win in over 4 years.#WARvFOR #IrishAbroad pic.twitter.com/4AVM4naKPi

— EK Rugby Analysis (@ek_rugby) March 5, 2021

Also, new to the Premier Sports team in Ireland will be popular rugby presenter and podcast host Christina Mahon who brings great rugby contacts and knowledge to the team at Premier Sports.

Premier Sports has also been awarded TV rights for the Republic of Ireland for the first time in the new era of the tournament expanding its coverage to bring together live games from each round to a wider rugby audience across the UK and Ireland.

The only man to start in two Grand Slam-winning Tests for Ireland.

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Rob Kearney. pic.twitter.com/QCJsRgM3lz

— The42.ie (@The42_ie) March 17, 2018

Premier Sports viewers can enjoy double delight high profile sport with Premier League action from 14:30 this weekend as Leeds faces West Ham before a URC doubleheader as the Irish provinces met South African teams first up with Leinster v Bulls before Munster host Sharks.

Premier Sports team on duty this weekend are Graham Little, Rob Kearney, and Bob Skinstad in the studio with Ryle Nugent and Stephen Ferris on commentary at the Aviva, and Connor Morris and Alan Quinlan in Thomond Park.

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Despite being left aside by Andy Farrell for the 2020 6 Nations, Kearney’s assurance and solidity at fullback have not been replaced.

The Clongowe’s Wood graduate made his Irish debut during the 2007 tour of Argentina. Now, he hangs up his boots in 2020 with a career to be proud of. Specifically, he has won four 6 Nations, four Heineken Cups, six Pro 12/14, one Challenge Cup, and the 2012 European Rugby Player of the year. In addition, he went on two Lions Tours in 2009 and 2013.

Of the four 6 Nations he has won, 2009 and 2018 were grand slams. He is the only player to start in the winning match on both occasions. In the same way, he started in both victories over the All Blacks in 2016 and 2018. He calls it quits with 95 caps and 82 points in an Irish jersey. Furthermore, he has over 200 appearances for Leinster to brag about.

Wishing this exquisite Rob Kearney drop goal a very happy 8th birthdaypic.twitter.com/GxTHVh2aC9

— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) April 29, 2020

What made Rob Kearney such a prolific full-back was his security under the high ball and his ability to open teams up on the counter-attack. Of course, his booming left-boot was another valuable asset.

Passing the Torch

Since he made the green number 15 his own, Kearney was largely unchallenged for the position. Much of this was because he was so hard to compete with. Even now, with the likes of Jordan Larmour and Will Addison coming to the fore, the gap remains.

Larmour is the obvious replacement for Kearney. Indeed, he was the reason why Kearney was only at the Saracens game in a tracksuit and sat out the Pro14 final. But, Larmour is young and has a long way to go. Where they compare is in their speed and ability to slot into the attack. On the other hand, Larmour is confident in the tackle like his predecessor.

At the same time, Larmour does not thrive under the high ball as Kearney did. Consequently, the 23-year-old full-back has been targeted profusely by oppositions hoping to capitalise on his mistakes. Until he improves this part of his game, the comparisons between him and Kearney should be quenched.

Another contender is Ulster’s Will Addison. Before the start of the 2020 6 Nations, many thought Addison had as good a chance as Larmour to be picked at 15. However, Farrell stuck with the young Leinster prodigy. Addison had to make do with a place in the 23, and more often sat games out altogether.

His ability is not in doubt though. Unfortunately, Addison has had major injury concerns this season. Without him Ulster look a lot lighter. While it looked like he could recover during the lockdown, the return to training led to his back injury flaring up.

At 27, Addison is closer in stature to Kearney and his physicality offers another dimension. Although, the upcoming internationals are key to claiming the jersey for the long term and Addison needs to get fit.

One silver lining Ulster have found from this is Michael Lowry (22). The young full-back has impressed when called upon, and even stepped in at outhalf against Toulouse. Small, quick, and versatile, Lowry could be molded into a version of New Zealand’s Damian McKenzie. If allowed to develop properly, he could be a full-back for the future.

Kearney’s closest competition in his international career likely came from Simon Zebo. Yet, Zebo was often deployed on the wing instead. But, many would argue that 15 was his best position. Certainly, this is where he has thrived since moving to Racing 92. Now 30, a return to Ireland looks unlikely as Zebo is flourishing in the French capital. However, many were disappointed that he wasn’t afforded the same courtesy as Johnny Sexton was when playing abroad.

Besides, the current Irish squad has backs who possess the versatility to play at full-back already. Robbie Henshaw has done it before. Likewise with Andrew Conway and Jacob Stockdale. But these players are best deployed in their primary positions and are unlikely to be a permanent fix.

One thing that is clear is that Rob Kearney’s retirement leaves a gap in the Irish team that needs to be filled. These are big shoes to fill. However, the competition between Larmour and Addison is only healthy. Currently, it seems to be swinging Larmour’s way and it would appear that it is his jersey to lose.

They could do a lot worse than look to Rob Kearney for inspiration.

With the curtain drawn on Leinster's season, that's a wrap on the careers of Rob Kearney and Fergus McFadden

Pictured here in happier times. Some servants and they'll be sorely missed pic.twitter.com/DEcPvkHT8o

— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) September 19, 2020

https://3.249.64.60/rugby/8-nations-rugby-championship-fixtures-and-pools/

https://twitter.com/patmccarry/status/1307354837802196993

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