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Rob Kearney believes Rory Best\u2019s Ireland captaincy has been \u201cundervalued\u201d.<\/p>\nRob Kearney believes Rory Best\u2019s Ireland captaincy has been \u201cundervalued\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ulster stalwart Best has led Ireland to a Six Nations Grand Slam and the nation\u2019s maiden two victories over New Zealand in just three years as Test skipper.<\/p>\n
Best\u2019s stewardship came under intense fire in the wake of Ireland\u2019s record 57-15 loss to England at Twickenham on August 24.<\/p>\n
The evergreen 37-year-old hooker impressed off the bench as Ireland edged out Wales 22-17 in Cardiff last weekend though, reasserting his authority, and has since been confirmed as boss Joe Schmidt\u2019s World Cup captain.<\/p>\n
Now Leinster full-back Kearney has backed Best as the \u201cglue\u201d that can bind Ireland together in their bid to push past the World Cup\u2019s quarter-finals for the first time in the Japanese tournament that kicks off later this month.<\/p>\n
Asked to evaluate Best\u2019s leadership, Kearney replied: \u201cIt\u2019s huge, isn\u2019t it? And sometimes I think it gets a bit undervalued, his win rate and what he has achieved.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the momentous victories we\u2019ve had as a team have been under Rory. He\u2019s a brilliant leader, he\u2019s the glue that brings the team together a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain, he\u2019s a guy who is training really well and I\u2019m sure he\u2019s very excited to get out there and demonstrate that he\u2019s still hugely capable of producing big performances, even at his ripe old age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Best will retire after the World Cup in Japan and will make his final Ireland turn at the Aviva Stadium in winning his 120th cap in Saturday\u2019s clash with Wales.<\/p>\n
Ireland\u2019s last World Cup warm-up fixture also represents head coach Schmidt\u2019s final Test at the helm in Dublin, with the 53-year-old Kiwi stepping down after the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Kearney admitted Ireland would love to hand both men the perfect Dublin send-off, but insisted that cannot cloud preparations.<\/p>\n
Ireland will launch their World Cup by facing Scotland in Yokohama on September 22, with Kearney hoping Schmidt\u2019s men can take another leap forward in form this weekend.<\/p>\n
Asked how keen the Ireland squad are to help Best and Schmidt sign off in style in Dublin, Kearney said: \u201cObviously it\u2019s very important but it\u2019s not at the forefront of our minds.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerformance is huge for us this week and even if you scale back the performance, it\u2019s putting it into blocks; the first 10 minutes, the second 10 minutes, and so on.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can look after all those mini blocks and win all those moments, the performance and victory will look after itself. And then you get to enjoy and feel proud of giving Joe and Rory the big send-off.<\/p>\n
\u201cFacing Scotland in round one in Japan, it\u2019s a different make-up from how the pool games fell for us four years ago. We really need to ensure we\u2019re firing at all cylinders for that first week, so this weekend is a big step for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the biggest game of the pool probably for us. And we know that Scotland are starting to brim nicely, they got a good win over France at home. So facing Wales at home this weekend, it\u2019s also a perfect Test for us; it\u2019s as tough as it gets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe guys last week made a big step in terms of the team\u2019s confidence. To get a win on the board away from home was big for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve trained really well this week which will give us another lift in confidence. But performance-wise now we need to take another big step.\u201d<\/p>\n