SIDELINED FOR much of last season by a serious knee injury, further evidence of Rob Kearney’s stunning revival in fitness and form this season was demonstrated last night when he was honoured as Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association player of the year.
The Leinster and Irish fullback became the 10th player to receive the award at the annual IRUPA banquet in the Burlington Hotel, Dublin, when topping the poll amongst his 130 or so peers ahead of Stephen Ferris and Ronan O’Gara.
Outstanding on the Lions’ tour in 2009, when ultimately displacing Lee Byrne in the second and third Tests, his fitness and form suffered a little the following season before he was sidelined from November 2010 until the start of this season after undergoing an operation for a micro fracture in his knee, which involved drilling into the bone to regenerate his cartilage.
“I was really lucky to have Ray Moran as my surgeon and Brian Green did a huge amount of rehab with me as well,” said Kearney last night. “It’s when you get awards like this one you have to be really thankful for the people who got you back fit again because I was in a nasty place where it could have gone either way for me.”
He joins a celebrated list of fellow internationals, including Leinster team-mates such as Brian O’Driscoll, two-time winner Gordon D’Arcy and last season’s winner Isa Nacewa. “It really is the pinnacle of the awards you can get to be voted by your peers.”
Having thanked his coaches and fellow players with Ireland and Leinster, he was particularly “delighted” to finish above a “phenomenal” Ferris. “On half a leg as well. Imagine what he’d be like with two of them?” he quipped.
The contrast with last season has been remarkable. “It’s just so nice to be back involved and to be playing well on a winning side.”
Returning in time for the World Cup warm-up games away to Scotland and France last August, a groin strain sidelined him until the second game of the World Cup against Australia, from where his career was relaunched spectacularly.
It quickly became clear he had returned with a renewed enthusiasm and was developing a more rounded game, to the extent that there are few better fullbacks in the world.
Supremely athletic in the air, either receiving or chasing, with a huge boot, his counter-attacking, hitting the line and link play have been as impressive as his finishing, witness a host of try-scoring passes. “One thing I wanted to improve on this year was my distribution and sometimes it’s a nicer feeling to give a try-scoring pass than score the try.”
In addition to 11 Tests for Ireland, in Kearney’s 13 starts for Leinster he has scored seven tries and two drop goals, six of those tries and a drop goal coming in Leinster’s unbeaten march to Saturday week’s Heineken Cup final against Ulster.
With just 24 starts and one appearance off the bench, Kearney noted: “We do get really well looked after. I think this season I’ve played just shy of 2,000 minutes, which compared to the English and the French is obviously vastly reduced. And I think that shows with the Irish provinces doing so well in all the competitions.
“I think the break did me very well. It freshened me up a lot. You don’t take playing week-in, week-out for granted,” said Kearney, for whom this was effectively his first season under Joe Schmidt. But, having been a replacement in the final in ’09 and injured for last season’s decider, he still had a couple of boxes to tick this season. “When I was told about the award I said I’d give it back for two medals over the next couple of weeks. But that’s up to us. We’ve put ourselves in a really good position and hopefully our form will come through.”
IRUPA Awards 2012
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Rob Kearney (Leinster).
Nominations: Stephen Ferris (Ulster), Rob Kearney (Leinster), Ronan O'Gara (Munster).
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Peter O'Mahony (Munster).
Nominations: Craig Gilroy (Ulster), Ian Madigan (Leinster), Peter O'Mahony (Munster).
TRY OF THE YEAR
Winner: Craig Gilroy, Munster v Ulster, Heineken Cup.
Nominations: Craig Gilroy, Munster v Ulster, Heineken Cup; Brian O’Driscoll, Leinster v Cardiff Blues, Heineken Cup; Niall Ronan, Llanelli Scarlets v Munster Heineken Cup.
MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE
Winner: Mick O'Driscoll (Munster).
Nominations: Shane Jennings (Leinster), Ronan Loughney (Connacht), Mick O'Driscoll (Munster).
HALL OF FAME
Inducted: John Hayes (Munster).
UNSUNG HERO
Winner: Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster).
Nominations: Chris Henry (Ulster), Ronan Loughney (Connacht), Kevin McLaughlin (Leinster).
SUPPORTERS’ PLAYER OF YEAR
Winner: Rob Kearney (Leinster).
