The Kieran Shannon Interview: Mick Kearney - ‘You’d have a checklist of up to 100 items’

From counting shower heads to booking Usain Bolt, Mick Kearney’s duties during five years as manager of the Irish rugby team were as varied as they were challenging

For the first time in five years he won’t be there, wired up to a Declan Kidney or Joe Schmidt, but as someone who always perceived the job as being more about preventing problems than solving them, Mick Kearney’s hand will still be at play in Murrayfield today.

Last autumn, during Kearney’s final weeks as manager to the Irish senior rugby team, his appointed successor Paul Dean was invited — upon Kearney’s suggestion – into the camp for the full week of the test match against Canada and for some of the build- up to the game against Australia.