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Irish great Rob Kearney reveals unorthodox training method as he quarantines for Super Rugby

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

He went from freezing conditions in Ireland to bench pressing his own hotel bed in Brisbane, but Irish rugby legend Rob Kearney was all smiles when he finally met his new Western Force teammates in Perth on Tuesday.

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Kearney has spent his entire club life at Irish outfit Leinster and the star fullback jumped at the chance to experience something new when the Force came knocking in August.

Signing on the dotted line was easy, but getting to Perth amidst a global pandemic proved to be tricky.

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Kearney eventually touched down in Brisbane last month when he was forced to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks with his fiance Jess Redden.

The pair got creative while in quarantine with Kearney even resorting to bench pressing the bed.

“It wasn’t heavy enough,” Kearney said with a laugh.

“I think I’ve lost a kilo or two after the few weeks quarantine. So I’ll be asking the boys to stack on more weight.

“I had a good pal who I used to play rugby union with – Ben Te’o. He’s with the Broncos at the moment and he dropped some equipment to me, a rower and TherraBands.

“When you’re forced to have to adapt, you can make sessions up pretty quickly and you can surprise yourself with how much work you can get done in a small room.

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“My fiancé is hugely into her fitness and she regularly ran 10, 12km a day in the bedroom, which put me to shame.”

Kearney, who arrived in Perth on Monday, said the safety Australia provided from COVID-19 plus its hotter climate were major drawcards in him signing with the Force.

He hopes to not only play a key role on the field but also help develop the club’s younger players.

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“I’m very lucky that I’ve come from some teams and some cultures where we’ve won a lot of trophies and silverware,” Kearney said.

“Hopefully I can incorporate some of that winning mindset and what it takes to be a real high-performance team.”

Kearney finished up with Leinster in September and said he would gradually build up his loads over the coming weeks.

The 34-year-old is a rugby legend in his country, having made 95 test appearances for Ireland and earning three test caps for the British and Irish Lions.

Kearney’s arrival further bolsters a Force squad that went on a signing spree during the off-season.

Argentinian internationals Tomas Cubelli, Julian Montoya, Tomas Lezana, Santiago Medrano and Domingo Miotti have all signed, as well as Wallabies duo Tevita Kuridrani and Tom Robertson.

Former All Blacks Richard Kahui and Jeremy Thrush have re-signed from last year, giving the Force a huge international flavour.

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O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit
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