DECLAN KIDNEY WILL announce his squad for the November Series at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow and two players that featured in the last Irish outing are eager to make amends.
Chris Henry and Rob Kearney were both on the pitch at Waikato Stadium in June when referee Roman Poite blew the whistle on a 60-0 hammering.
Henry, who appeared as a second-half sub in the Third Test loss to the All Blacks, has been in fine form for unbeaten Ulster this season and will captain them this weekend against Newport Gwent Dragons.
He told TheScore.ie, “It would be fantastic to be involved again. I had a taster for it during the summer although, obviously, the result wasn’t the best.”
With Leinster’s Sean O’Brien not expected back until the end of the year, at the earliest, Henry feels an opportunity to take over the openside flanker position is there to be grasped.
He said, “There’s often talk about what position am I best in.
“Number 7 is my home now. It’s where I feel I do my best work.”
The returning Kearney brothers
A decision will be made, this Thursday, on Kearney’s participation in Leinster’s Pro12 game against Cardiff Blues.
While he is anxious to right some wrongs in the green jersey, Kearney admits ‘you need to be playing for your province’ to justify a spot in Ireland’s match-day 22.
The full-back acknowledges that Ireland need to deliver three big performances in the upcoming Tests against Argentina and South Africa, as well as the select XV match against Fiji.
“No doubt about it,” he said.
That Second Test (in New Zealand) was fantastic for us and we came so close to creating history but unfortunately people, and media and fans, are going to remember that three Test series with that 60-0 drubbing we got.
“We do need to get good performances under our belt. Wins are probably more important than performances but we need to have faith in our won ability, our coaches and our gameplan so that everything comes right for us.
“I firmly believe that will happen in November.”
Kearney’s younger brother, Dave has declared himself fit ahead of Leinster’s home game with Cardiff Blues on Saturday and says a call-up to the extended squad would be a pleasant surprise.
The winger said, “I’ve just been concentrating on getting fit so I haven’t thought of much else but, now that I’m ready to play again, I’ll focus on getting back into the Leinster squad and go from there.
“I was in the extended squad and there was a late call-up for the Welsh (Six Nations) game. It was a brilliant occasion for our family but, unfortunately, the result didn’t go our way.”
