WATCH: Dave Kearney: Fierce competition on the wings ‘gets the best out of players’
By Grainne McGuinness and Shaun Cronin
Dave Kearney starts on the wing for Ireland against Italy this Sunday and knows he will need to put in a strong performance if he wants to keep a place in the starting XV.
Keith Earls and Tommy Bowe scored two tries each last weekend against Romania, with Earls equalling Brian O’Driscoll’s World Cup tries record in a man of the match performance.
Kearney believes the fierce competition for places on the wing is driving the players to produce on the pitch.
“I didn’t really think it could get more competitive, but it has again,” he said today after the team announcement. “The wingers did really well against Romania, got two tries each, so yeah, that’s the pressure.
“You really only get the jersey for 80 minutes during a game and I suppose you’ve got to do the best you can to get it back for the following week.
“When you play your game you’ve got to hope that you’ve done enough on the pitch and in training to get that jersey back.”
He admitted it was tough to watch Bowe and Earls excel in the same position he plays.
“It’s not nice, no,” Kearney said. “You want to play in every game of the World Cup and every chance you get, and especially to play at Wembley in front of pretty much 90,000 Irish fans.
“So yeah, it’s tough to watch. Especially when it’s a lovely day and the ball is flowing wide.”
But what makes it tough for the players results in benefit to the team.
He said: “I think it gets the best out of players. The competition is so high that you really can’t afford to not perform well in games and at training too. Joe and the coaching staff take everything into account.
“When so many lads are competing for spots everyone needs to up their game.
“Every time you put on the jersey you’ve just got to hope you’ve done enough to get it back.”
