Dave Kearney hopes worst days a distant memory

It’s over two years since Dave Kearney won the last of his 17 Ireland caps but the Leinster winger hasn’t given up hope of featuring in this year’s Six Nations, or the World Cup, now that he has put a lengthy injury nightmare behind him.

Or so he hopes. Look through his appearances this last few years and they don’t add up to much. Eleven last season. Eight the season before. For every game played there is a chunk of the campaign where his name is missing.

“It’s been a tough couple of years, there’s no other way to put it,” he said this week ahead of Leinster’s trip to Zebre. “It has been frustrating for a number of reasons, obviously injury and then having to deal with other stuff on top of that too.

“The toughest part for me the last few years has just been getting consistent game time. I’d get back fit, have a couple of games and pick up another knock and be out for another few weeks. Stuff like that just kept adding up.

“Once you get into the team you need to be playing well consistently, back up performances, which I was finding difficult to do, but this season has been good for me so far. I’ve enjoyed it, which is important for me, and I’ve been getting back-to-back minutes. I’ve had one or two knocks but nothing serious.”

By “other stuff” he means the mental torment that comes with so many injuries. He has had two ankle issues, a troublesome toe, an abductor problem and a hiccup prompted by a head knock and a HIA.

All the while Leinster have been moving on. Adam Byrne emerged as a genuine threat on the wing. James Lowe arrived from New Zealand. Barry Daly built up 18 tries in 30 appearances and Jordan Larmour caught a few eyes.

“It’s not getting any easier with the amount of talent we have and the way that everyone is getting an opportunity. Squad rotation is a big thing now for us so players do get regular chances and that’s another reason why it is tough to get regular game time.

I was probably putting a lot of pressure on myself to perform well because I knew how important it would be in getting selected the next week. You put pressure on yourself every week but you are forcing and overthinking things.

It was the stop-start nature of his situation that ground his gears the most. It was why he got such satisfaction out of starting the back-to-back big European games in January, against Toulouse and Wasps. Three years had passed since that happened. “After getting those two games under my belt, at Europe level, it definitely gave me a lot of confidence. To play at that level again, it definitely has done a lot for me and my confidence, just to show the coaches that I feel I’m obviously good enough to play at that level, (that) I’ve done it before, and just to remind them that I can do it.”

That includes Joe Schmidt.

Kearney chatted with the Ireland coach before the Six Nations squad was announced and the message was: “you’re progressing really well, just get more games under your belt”. He’s not shy about saying the Six Nations and Japan are high in his thoughts.

“It’s happened to me before where I’ve been called in late to camp or I’ve been on the receiving end of an injury and had to bow out,” explained the 29-year who played every minute of the successful 2014 Six Nations campaign. “It always happens and it’s definitely still in the back of my head.”