Kearney pleased with return performance

Rob Kearney’s impressive return for Ireland provided a silver lining during an underwhelming 10-6 defeat to Scotland on Saturday.

Looking comfortable under the high ball and attacking Scotland’s defensive line with his customary pace and aggression, Kearney showed no signs of rustiness having been out of action since suffering a knee injury against New Zealand last November.

The Louth man admitted after the game that he was relieved he had gotten through the 80 minutes without any major hiccups.

“It's a huge relief to be playing again. I'd been nervous all week - I don't usually get nerves beforehand.

"I came across some big obstacles. The result wasn't what we wanted but from a personal perspective it was good to get through it.

"I felt really good at times, but was blowing at other times. All in all I was happy and felt pretty comfortable.

"I've come back from injury before where you try to do something magical, but my main focus was to do the basics right and make as few errors as possible.

While his performance was encouraging and showed signs of the old Kearney, the biggest relief was that his knee injury showed no signs of resurfacing.

“The knee feels brilliant, which for me was the most important thing.

"There were a couple of tackles and contact situations where I thought 'it's nice to be back'.

"You appreciate those collisions again in a strange sort of way."

Despite this impressive return, Kearney cannot be guaranteed a starting place on Kidney’s Test 15 with full back proving one of the most fiercely contested positions in the Irish squad. Keith Earls, Gavin Duffy, Luke Fitzgerald, Geordan Murphy and the emerging star Felix Jones will all be eyeing the number 15 jersey, a point which is not lost on Kearney.

“I'd love to play every week, but that's up to Deccie,” he said.

“It's a very competitive squad, there's Rob and Geordan and Gavin there. All you can do each time you get a chance is do your best, and hopefully get put in again at some stage.”