Rob Kearney announced that he would be hanging up his rugby boots in November of 2021.
It wasn’t long before he picked up a microphone, however, and moved into the next part of his life. He has taken to punditry like a duck to water.
He jokes that he is still getting used to “the afterlife”.
Speaking to VIP Magazine at the launch of the Six Nations, he explained: “All good things have to come to an end. I find the punditry great because it keeps me involved in the game.
“Rugby has been in my blood since I was four or five years old. It’s all I know. From that perspective it’s great. It’s still pretty early, it’s only been a year. It takes a good few years to get comfortable in the afterlife.
“They say sports people die twice, when they retire and when they actually kick the bucket. It’s a bit morbid. But I’m just grateful I got to play for 17/18 years. Of course, there are times when you miss it. That’s probably one of the good things about not being a player. If you lose you carry it around with you for the week. You don’t have that emotional attachment being a pundit.“
Of course, he has had a lot of changes over the last few years. From his retirement to his marriage to Jess Redden. So how is he finding this next stage of his life?
“I am happy. I always said you have to be patient with yourself, you’re not going to transition very quickly out of that life. All I ever wanted to do was play rugby then one day you’re told you can’t.
“So you have to be patient with yourself on that journey finding new passions and new projects. But all good so far. I always knew I wanted to go into some aspect of punditry, I didn’t expect it to happen so quick.“
He admits that it can be tough as he still has friends within the game, so being non-biased can be difficult at times. However, he would never want to change it as he admits that being a pundit is a “great opportunity“.
And of course: “It’s nice to be a little bit removed.“
The Six Nations kick off on February 4th with coverage airing across RTÉ and Virgin Media
