Rob Kearney wants to create history – Rugby News Update
Rob Kearney, the 26-year-old Ireland and Leinster winger, who is equally adept at playing fullback, wants to create history at Eden Park, when his country takes on New Zealand on Saturday June 9, for the first of three test matches.
The All Blacks have not lost at Eden Park since 1994, when France emerged victorious by a 23-20 score-line. They will be the latest team to try to win at the ground but the odds are stacked against them. Ireland have never beaten New Zealand in a test match,
and a 10-10 draw at Lansdowne Road in 1973 is the nearest they have come to emerging victorious.
Declan Kidney, the Irish head coach, is confident ahead of the match, and he believes that if his team shows a fearless attacking verve, they can come out with a win. He wanted his players to take confidence from the win against Australia during the World
Cup.
"(Saturday) is our best chance because it is our next chance," Kearney said. "And if the first Test doesn't go our way then the one after that will be our best chance again after that. It was a huge occasion for us to turn over Australia in a World Cup."
Kearney is confident as well, and ahead of the match, he said, "As players we always believe that we can match it with the best teams in the world when we turn up and we play good rugby. As a player and as a team, you have to believe that."
He also referenced the win against the Wallabies at the World Cup as a benchmark, and he wants his team to reproduce that form and standard, if they are going to challenge the mighty All Blacks.
They play matches at Christchurch on June 16 and Hamilton on June 23, and any win for Ireland will be a big confidence boaster for the team.
Kearney is in supreme form, having won the Heineken Cup with Leinster this year. He is considered one of the best fullbacks in the game. He made his Ireland debut against Argentina at Buenos Aires, on June 2, 2007.
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