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Ex-Ireland full-back Rob Kearney signs one-year Super Rugby deal

(Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Rob Kearney has confirmed his stellar career will have a Super Rugby swansong, the former Ireland full-back joining Western Force just five days after he announced his long stint at Leinster was finally over.

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The 34-year-old, who made his 219th appearance for his native province in an August PRO14 win over Ulster, penned an open letter to Irish rugby last week outlining he had lived the dream of every five-year-old boy from the area.

His near 1,000-word letter left the door open for a change of scenery, however, and it has now been confirmed in Perth that Kearney will suit up for the Force in 2021.

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“I’m delighted to be joining the Western Force for their upcoming season and excited to play with such an ambitious club who are looking to improve on this year’s campaign,” said Kearney on the Force website.

“I hope to add value both on and off the field that complements the high ambition of the club. I’m particularly excited to immerse myself in a new performance environment and to play both with and against some of the best players and teams in the southern hemisphere.

“I look forward to moving to Western Australia to begin building relationships with my new teammates and coaches alike and to meet the ever-growing Western Force fan base which also includes a strong Irish contingent.”

Force head of rugby Matt Hodgson added: “Rob is a fantastic signing, but more than that he is a great person who will be able to bring a lot to WA rugby. He is a player of the highest calibre that brings a wealth of experience and quality to the side.

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“He also brings a winning mentality, having experienced so much success for his country and Leinster. We can’t wait for the sea of blue and the sizeable Irish community within WA to see him pull on the Force jersey next season.”

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AM 44 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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