Kearney can’t wait for taste of big time

DAVE KEARNEY, come on down.

“It’s another step to take,” he said yesterday with the air of a man taking it all in his stride. “The chance to play in the Heineken Cup is really massive for me. A couple of times last year I was in the 22 but didn’t get to feature. I’m looking forward to it.”

It was only a matter of time before he got to tick this box.

Outings in the league have increased year on year since Michael Cheika chucked a handful of greenhorns in against Newport Gwent Dragons the week before the province faced Leicester Tigers in the 2008 European final.

Tomorrow will be his 12th appearance of the campaign, just one short of his previous best with anything up to another 15 dates, depending on results, still to be negotiated before the season can call it a wrap.

It’s no coincidence that his big break has arrived in a World Cup year. Like so many others, the 22-year was given his head while the elders were away in New Zealand and it is noticeable that he has squeezed all 80 minutes from nine of his 11 starts.

“The key thing is getting game time. While the Irish internationals are away at the World Cup or a November series it’s a really important time for guys like me to develop and start getting game time. Any time you get an opportunity to play games is when you develop most.”

And yet, there must have been times when he feared his opportunity wouldn’t come. Like last year when Fergus McFadden, a centre by trade, was parachuted into the wing when numbers were short for the big games before Christmas.

Further hand-wringing would have been understandable when Fionn Carr returned to the roost from Connacht during the off-season but the head-to-head between the wings makes for interesting reading at this juncture.

Like Kearney, Carr has featured 11 times, his trio of tries is one better than his teammate and he was given the nod in the Heineken Cup last November when he banked 23 minutes off the bench against Glasgow at the RDS.

Now it’s Kearney’s turn and if he impresses it will add grist to the mill for those who believe Carr may have made the wrong career move in departing Galway and the chance of regular game time in the Heineken for a bit-part in Dublin.

“Any team you play with, there is going to be lots of competition there which obviously pushes you on more,” said Kearney. “Development is going to come. It’s not something you’re going to force.

“The more game time you get the more you play you develop a bit more. Working on things inside in the gym and working on extra things like your passing — stuff the coaches tell you to work on — is really important.”

It isn’t exactly fair but the reality is that Kearney will inevitably be judged that bit more harshly by some given his brother’s success with the province, with Ireland and with the British and Irish Lions.

But he has become well accustomed to shrugging aside such suggestions in his dealings with the media. Having Rob as a teammate has its share of advantages too.

Europe brings with it all sorts of added distractions for the uninitiated — more media, different balls even — and who better to pester for hints and tips on what to expect? “He just told me to treat it like any other game. It’s great having him there as well. I’ve played with him before so it’s not going to be too different.

“It has been a bit of an inspiration too. His experience really helps me. We go through my games and he would help me and tell me what things I should work on and what things I’m doing well. It’s great having him there.”

No doubt the feeling is mutual.