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Rob Kearney

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Rob Kearney
Full nameRobert Kearney
Date of birth (1986-03-26) 26 March 1986 (age 38)
Place of birthDundalk,[1] Ireland
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight95.01 kg (14 st 13.5 lb)
SchoolClongowes Wood College
UniversityUniversity College Dublin
Notable relative(s)David Kearney (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Full-back / Wing
Current team Leinster rugby
Correct as of 5 September 2015
Correct as of 13 February 2016

Robert Kearney (born 26 March 1986), also referred to as Rob Kearney, is an Irish rugby union rugby player who currently plays for UCD, Leinster and Ireland. As a youth he also played rugby union for Clongowes Wood College and Gaelic football for Louth in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship.[2]

Early life

Born and raised in the Cooley Peninsula, Kearney, like many of his peers, got involved in athletics at an early age. The dominant sport in the area is Gaelic football. As a youth, Kearney played Gaelic for Naomh Mhuire, and in the Cooley Kickhams underage setup, before graduating to the Cooley senior football team at the relatively young age of 16. He played for Cooley in the Louth Senior Football Championship final in 2004.[2][3]

Education

Kearney attended Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare for his secondary education. After his Leaving Certificate he moved to University College Dublin, where he studied Arts. He graduated in April 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[4]

Club career

UCD

Kearney attended University College Dublin where he played for the rugby team. In 2005 he helped the U-20s team win the McCorry Cup, beating Dublin University Football Club in the final.[5]

Leinster

Kearney played for Leinster at both schoolboy and U-19 level before going onto represent them as a senior. He scored a hat-trick of tries on his debut for Leinster in a pre-season friendly win over Parma.

He made his Celtic League debut for Leinster in 2005 in a 22–20 defeat away to the Ospreys. He made 32 appearances in the competition, scoring eight tries, with three penalties during a period in September 2006, when usual place kicker, Felipe Contepomi was injured. Kearney played in his first Heineken Cup game in a 19–22 defeat against Bath at the RDS later that same season. It was the first of 10 appearances scoring ten tries in the process.[6] He was part of Leinster's Heineken Cup winning team in 2009[7] but missed the 2011 final due to injury.[8] On 21 May 2012, the day after Leinster won their second straight Heineken Cup he was announced as the ERC Player of the Year for 2012. During the 2011–12 campaign he started all nine European matches scoring six tries.[9]

International career

Ireland

Kearney represented Ireland at schoolboy, U-19 and A level before he was called up to the senior squad for the 2008 Six Nations Championship.[10]

He was first called into the Irish training squad for 2005's autumn internationals and toured with Ireland A in the summer and played in the Churchill Cup. In April 2006, he was named in the Irish squad to tour Argentina in the summer and earned his first cap on 2 June 2006. During the 2008 Six Nations Championship he scored two tries, one against Scotland and one against England.[10] He was a member of the victorious Ireland team that won the 2009 Six Nations Championship, Triple Crown and Grand Slam.[11] One of the most famous incidents in Kearney's career was a high tackle incident involving Italy's Andrea Masi in the first minute of a game. The incident was taken as an indication of the danger posed by Kearney in attack.[12] In the 2011 Rugby world cup Kearney was selected but was injured for the first game against the United States; however, he played in all the other matches which took Ireland through to the quarter-final. In the quarter-finals though Ireland were knocked out by Wales 22–10.

Kearney was selected in the Ireland squad for the 2012 Six Nations Championship and named in the starting team to play Wales[13] in the opening match. He played in all the other games in which Ireland finished 3rd on the table in the Six nations 2012.

British and Irish Lions

On 21 April 2009, Kearney was named in the British and Irish Lions squad for the 2009 tour to South Africa.[14] He made his Lions test debut as a substitute in the 26–21 First Test defeat in Durban.[15][16] Due to an injury to Lee Byrne, Kearney was selected again for the second test in Pretoria.[16] He scored the only try for the Lions, however they lost 28–25.[17] He then played in the final test in Johannesburg which the Lions won 28–9.[18] On 30 April 2013, Kearney was named to his second British and Irish Lions squad.[19]

Personal life

Kearney is the second oldest out of the four Kearney children. He has an older brother Richard, a younger brother David (Dave) and, the youngest of the four children, a sister Sara. His brother Dave also plays for Leinster.

Kearney was in a high profile relationship with British actress Susie Amy until they split up at some point during summer 2012. He is now in a relationship with Jess Redden, 22, from Dublin.[20] In February 2015 he was announced as the newest brand ambassador for Newbridge Silverware .[21]

References

  1. ^ Gerry Thornley, Kearney relieved to 'finally make it', The Irish Times, 1 June 2007
  2. ^ a b Kearney just taking it all in his stride Independent.ie, 14 February 2009
  3. ^ Win extra special for Cooley Kickhams Argus.ie, 25 May 2009
  4. ^ Graduation day for Irish international rugby player University College Dublin, 27 April 2010
  5. ^ Senior Squad UCD Rugby Football Club
  6. ^ Profiles: Rob Kearney Leinster Rugby
  7. ^ Leicester 16–19 Leinster BBC Sport, 23 May 2009
  8. ^ Kearney gutted to miss out Sky Sports, 17 May 2011
  9. ^ "Kearney wins top European award".
  10. ^ a b "Healy and Sexton in Ireland squad". BBC Sport. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  11. ^ "Wales 15–17 Ireland". BBC Sport. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
  12. ^ "Keeping his head in heat of battle". The Irish Times.
  13. ^ "Rugby Union: Ireland Name Starting XV to Face Wales in RBS 6 Nations 2012 Opener". The Global Herald. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  14. ^ "British & Irish Lions tour squad announced". Lions Rugby. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  15. ^ South Africa 26 British and Irish Lions 21: match report The Telegraph, 20 June 2009
  16. ^ a b Lions tour over for injured Lee Byrne London Evening Standard, 25 June 2009
  17. ^ South Africa 28–25 Lions BBC Sport, 27 June 2009
  18. ^ South Africa 9–28 Lions BBC Sport, 4 July 2009
  19. ^ "Warburton to lead British and Irish Lions".
  20. ^ "He kept that one quiet! Rob Kearney's new girlfriend has been revealed, and they have been dating for a YEAR". evoke.ie. 15 October 2014.
  21. ^ "Model moment! Rob Kearney joins Amy Huberman & Aoife Walsh as face of Newbridge". evoke.ie. 16 February 2015.

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