Kearney gives Axel a shot in the arm

Anthony Foley found an ally in the enemy camp yesterday with Leinster’s Rob Kearney expressing his admiration for the Munster coach as he attempts to stamp his authority on the province in the post-Rob Penny era.

The pair’s mutual time in the Ireland camp was brief with Foley’s international career winding down in 2005 and Kearney’s kicking off that same year, but the Munster man made a bigger impression when he joined the Ireland staff in 2012.

“I was a little bit older and he was a coach and, to be fair, I was pretty impressed with him,” said Kearney yesterday ahead of tomorrow’s Guinness Pro12 meeting between the two provinces at the Aviva Stadium.