WHILE DAVE KEARNEY’S most recent contract renewal was not given the same fanfare as Sean O’Brien or Jamie Heaslip’s, the 24-year-old will nonetheless play an important role for province and country in the coming seasons.
Kearney’s progression into an international wing this season has been a welcome development for Leinster and Ireland, but there were some concerns over whether or not the Louth man would be remaining on these shores at all.
The former Clongowes Wood student admits that he left the negotiation process largely in the hands of his agent and another trusted ally.
Dave McHugh and my dad would have been working on it together. I like to stay out of it as much as I can. Obviously any player wants to get it sorted and not having it hanging over them. That’s sorted for next year, so I’ll be in Leinster for the next two years.”
While the rumour mill never hit overdrive surrounding a possible move out of the country for Kearney, there were decisions for him to make in that regard. Stories never emerged linking him to France, although that doesn’t necessarily mean the winger didn’t have interesting proposals from outside of Ireland.
Leinster is home, however, and Kearney is delighted to be staying.
“I suppose you’ve got to weigh up all your options and what’s in front of you. Obviously I was happy with how this year went and how I’d been performing for Leinster. It’s tough to leave a place that you love so much, where you love playing and a fan base like we have. But yeah, I did weigh up everything.”
With his two-year contract sorted, Kearney can focus on continuing his growth as a player. With that in mind, the seven-times capped wing agrees that his experience of playing at fullback has been helpful in his progression.
Kearney would “have no issue” with playing in the 15 shirt again if called upon to do so at some stage in the future, and appreciates that the knowledge of what goes into the fullback role helps him as a wing too.
“I think it’s important for a back three player nowadays to be able to cover all positions and especially fullback. I think as the game moves on, fullback and wing are becoming more and more similar. Every week I’m trying to improve and add strings to the bow, so playing at fullback adds to that.”
