Rob Kearney admits he doesn’t miss playing rugby after ‘tricky periods’ in his career

The former Ireland and Leinster star hung up his boots in November 2021 and has since married his long-term girlfriend, Jess Redden, and welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Bobby Brian Kearney.

And while he feels “blessed” to have made his career on the pitch for almost two decades, he’s glad that his rugby days are behind him.

Speaking to Doireann Garrihy on the latest episode of her podcast, The Laughs of Your Life, he explained: “I definitely miss elements of it. As a whole, I don't miss it. I was absolutely blessed and was so lucky to do it for 18 years professionally.

“Physically my body is still somewhat pretty good coming out of it. I can still do all the same things I want to do.

“When I was finishing up, I wasn't the same player as I was when I was in my prime obviously, but that gets really frustrating because your mind and everything is better you are working quicker, you can see things. So mentally you are so much sharper but physically you are not.”

The Louth man also opened up about coming to terms with realising that his body “can't do what you used to be able to do” and how he faced abuse from the public and the media towards the end of his career.

“I remember distinctly in 2016 and my body wasn't great, I was breaking down… My form wasn't great. Then I started getting a lot of s**t from the public, newspapers, and the press and it all can sort of weigh down on you an awful lot, it can be very lonely.

“You can speak to your family but they tell you you still have it and your coaches are in such high-pressured moments that they can't take time out to deal with your own individual issues.

“A lot of the time it is just you and your own thoughts... So, there were an awful lot of tricky periods during my career where at times it would get close to a little too much,” he added.