Rob Kearney: This is my biggest year

Rob Kearney agrees that the calendar year to come will amount to the most important of his career — but not just because of a certain appointment in Japan.

The Leinster full-back will turn 33 in March, 10 days after Ireland’s defence of their Six Nations title comes to an end with a game against Wales, and all thoughts will turn towards the east once the final whistle sounds in Cardiff. In an international sense, at any rate. Leinster will still have a Guinness PRO14 crown to back up and, odds are, a Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final to contest in their bid to build on last season’s success when seeing off Racing 92 in an edgy decider in Bilbao.