Kearney has dual concern

IT was, by Rob Kearney’s own admission, a strange thing to be sitting in the Shelbourne Hotel last Friday afternoon as his Leinster team-mates prepared for their Magners League semi-final that evening against Ulster.

Had it not been for the serious knee injury he sustained on Ireland duty during the November internationals, the 25-year-old full-back would have been gathering his thoughts and focussing on achieving victory rather than shooting the breeze in a t-shirt and jeans.

So it is difficult to imagine what Kearney will be going through when he takes his place in the stands at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday evening to watch his friends play Northampton Saints in the Heineken Cup final.