Kearney signs new three-year deal with Leinster

Leinster and Ireland rugby star Rob Kearney has signed a new three-year contract with the IRFU which will see him remain at the province until at least June 2018.

The full back, who hails from Willville in Carlingford, made his senior debut for Leinster against the Ospreys in September 2005 and has since made 155 appearances, scoring 38 tries.

Commenting on the new contract, Kearney said: “I am happy to have signed a new contract that will keep me at Leinster for another three years.

“I made my debut for Leinster almost 10 years ago and it is a great honour be in a position to extend my contract and hopefully play a part in future success at both provincial and national level.”

IRFU Performance Director David Nucifora said: “We are delighted that Rob has committed his future to Leinster and Ireland for the next three years. Rob has shown his world class in the blue of Leinster, the green of Ireland and the red of the Lions.”

Leinster CEO Mick Dawson added: “It is great that Rob has signed a new IRFU contract which keeps him at Leinster up to the end of the 2018 season. Rob is a senior international with a proven pedigree and a key voice within our environment.

“Keeping our stars at Leinster will ensure that we continue to compete for silverware in our domestic competition and in Europe.”

Kearney made his Ireland debut against Argentina in June 2005 and the 28-year-old full-back has gone on to win 56 caps for his country, scoring 10 tries and a drop goal.

Kearney has twice toured with the British & Irish Lions in 2009 and 2013, playing in all three Tests in South Africa five years ago.

He has won a Grand Slam (2009) and Six Nations Championship (2014) with Ireland and three Heineken Cups, an Amlin Challenge Cup and three PRO12 titles with Leinster, as well as being voted the ERC European Player of the Year and IRUPA Players’ Player of the Year in 2012.

Leinster could face battle to hold on to Kearney

Dave Kearney crashes over his opening try against Samoa on his Ireland debut last year

Leinster might have received a huge boost this morning with the news that the ‘Tullow Tank’ Seán O’Brien has signed a new contract with the IRFU but they could face a battle to hold on to one of their other young stars, Dave Kearney.

Speaking to the media ahead of the province’s crucial Heineken Cup clash at home to Ospreys on Friday night, the Willville man admitted he had yet to sign a new deal with Leinster and did not know where his future lies.

“I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to do,” he said.

“It is ongoing, it’s still up in the air, but, hopefully, it will be resolved soon. I’m having a chat with a few people and we’re weighing everything up.”

Kearney, who scored two tries on his Ireland debut last autumn, said money wasn’t a central issue but said he had to weigh everything up before deciding what to do.

“I’m looking at all my options and, hopefully, we can get an answer quickly and sort things out.”

While no Top 14 clubs have yet to express an interest in Kearney, he did admit that playing abroad was something every player thought about at some stage of their careers.

Kearney drop goal key as Leinster come from behind to win on his 50th Heineken Cup appearance

Kearney converts his drop goal attempt against Castres on Sunday

Leinster’s Rob Kearney marked his 50^th Heineken Cup appearance in style on Sunday with a man of the match performance away to Castres in the Stade Pierre Antoine.

Despite trailing 14-0 after 25 minutes, the province fought their way back into the game to win by 29-22 in the end.

Key to that comeback were two Jimmy Gopperth tries, followed by a monster 42m drop goal from Kearney that put Leinster in front for the first time.

A Jordi Murphy try completed the comeback with Kearney insisting his side showed great character to ground out the win.

“After those first 20, 25 minutes, we needed to show a lot of character,” the Willville man told Sky Sports.

“Teams that don’t have that sort of character won’t come back from those 14-0 scores. We knew if we kept building, had confidence in our own ability, kept going through some phases.

“We may not be the biggest side in Europe but we will always back our intensity, that if we keep building phases we will break teams down.”

Kearney agreed that Leinster were assisted by having the wind at their backs in the second half but added that ‘we still had to play a huge amount of rugby’.

“There were times there that we were playing out of our own 22, to try build phases and score tries,” he said. “When the opportunity was there and we felt there was a sniff to make some ground with ball in hand, we did that too.”

Commenting on his drop goal, Kearney said: “I’ve kicked some ugly drop goals and that’s certainly up there but they all count.”

Dundalk RFC to conclude their year with full day of activities at the Mill Road on Saturday

The 2013 senior competitive rugby calendar year concludes for Dundalk RFC at the Mill Road on Saturday with an extravaganza of rugby and festivities.

All three senior teams will be in action, followed by an afternoon and evening of entertainment in the clubhouse to bring down the curtain on another great year for the club. The day’s itinerary is as follows:

• The U-13s face Clane at 11am
• Dundalk 2nds look to continue their blistering league form when they take on Enniscorthy at 12.30pm
• Dundalk 3rds take on Rathoath in the McGee Cup, at 2pm
• The main Event, Dundalk 1sts look to end an excellent calendar year in style when they take on Enniscorthy at 2pm

From there it will be up to the clubhouse where fantastic local band The Stormers will be playing an acoustic set from 3.30pm until 6pm, following by a live screen of the Leinster v Northampton Heineken Cup match.

All are invited along on the day.

The Black Eyed Kearney

Leinster’s Rob Kearney met with the media yesterday to look ahead to the province’s Heineken Cup clash at home to Castres but he was clearly still feeling the effects of the weekend’s win over Ospreys.

The full-back, from Willville in Carlingford, was sporting two black eyes at the press conference, with Inpho photographers brilliantly capturing his war wounds in the above shot.

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Kearney brothers both starting for Leinster in Heineken Cup opener against Ospreys

David Kearney and Rob Kearney celebrate Leinster’s Heineken Cup success at Twickenham in May 2012

David and Rob Kearney have both been named in the Leinster team to face Ospreys in tomorrow’s opening Heineken Cup clash in the Liberty Stadium.

For elder brother Rob, it will be his 135^th outfit in the provincial colours.

The brothers first played alongside each other in the Heineken Cup in January 2012 when David made his European debut against Glasgow Warriors.

Kick-off on Saturday is at 6pm with full coverage of the game on SkySports.

The full Leinster team for Sunday is:

15 Rob Kearney

14 Fergus McFadden

13 Brendan Macken

12 Gordon D’Arcy

11 Dave Kearney

10 Jimmy Gopperth

9 Isaac Boss

 

1 Cian Healy

2 Sean Cronin

3 Mike Ross

4 Devin Toner

5 Mike McCarthy

6 Kevin McLaughlin

7 Sean O’Brien

8 Jamie Heaslip

 

Replacements: Aaron Dundon, Jack McGrath, Martin Moore, Quinn Roux, Rhys Ruddock, Eoin Reddan, Ian Madigan, Luke Fitzgerald.

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• Kearney brothers included in Irish squad for Guinness Series (talkofthetown.ie)
• Kearney a hit off the pitch as well as on it (talkofthetown.ie)
• Kearney named new IRUPA chairman (talkofthetown.ie)

Kearney on target for Leinster

Dave Kearney often takes a backseat to his older brother Rob in terms of publicity but having started both of Leinster’s opening RaboDirect Pro 12 matches at full back, the younger of the Willville brothers is quickly making a name for himself this season.

Dave is far from a newbie at provincial level and already has a Heineken Cup winners’ medal to back that up. However, this year it is hoped that the 23-year-old can burst into the Irish setup and he did his chances no harm with a superb first-half try against the Ospreys at the RDS on Saturday.

The game might have finished 29 apiece but the former Cooley Kickhams player’s try was an undoubted highlight of the game.

Check it out below:

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Kearney named new IRUPA chairman

Rob Kearney was yesterday unveiled as the new chairman of IRUPA, the Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association.

The Willville man, who was in Dundalk yesterday to launch the Chamber of Commerce’s Santa Fun Run with brother Dave, succeeds former Leinster and Ireland team-mate Jonny Sexton, who has moved to France to play with Racing Metro.

Speaking to the press at his unveiling, Kearney expressed his fears over the future of the Heineken Cup and said a breakaway competition by French and English clubs could have a major impact on the Irish provinces.

The former Cooley Kickhams footballer said his main ambition as the new IRUPA chairman would be to enhance the relationship between the players and the IRFU and to help with the transition into life after rugby for those retiring from the game.

Watch Kearney’s interview with IRUPA above.

Kearney a hit off the pitch as well as on it

Rob Kearney has put his Master’s degree in business from UCD to good use

Rugby star Rob Kearney has had a good few years on the pitch but he’s also having a great time off it too.

The Leinster and Ireland full back has won almost everything there is to win in the game in recent years, including two Heineken Cups and a Lions series.

However, he is now celebrating success off the field as well after it emerged that profits at his firm have jumped by a massive 54%.

According to new accounts filed by the former UCD student’s Willville Promotions Ltd, accumulated profits rose from €123,247 to €190,874 during 2012.

The firm’s cash increased from €128,445 to €190,081.

The jump in accumulated profits at the firm last year followed profits sharply increasing in 2011, from €57,675 to €123,247.

Another medal for Rob

Kearney crashes over the line for his first half try on Friday night

Congratulations to Carlingford native Rob Kearney who was on the scoresheet with a brilliant try last night as Leinster landed their first ever Amlin Challenge Cup victory, with a 34-13 win over Stade Francais in the RDS.

Rob, whose brother David was an unused substitute in the game, has won Heineken Cups in the past and will be looking to add a RaboDirect Pro 12 league winner’s medal to his collection when Leinster take on Ulster in the final next weekend.