Robert KEARNEY
Ireland Caps: 46 (19-3-24) Ireland Points: 37 (7t 1c)
Ireland Debut: v Argentina 2007

British & Irish Lions: 2009 (SA) Tests: 3(1-0-2), Points: 5 (1t)
Lions Debut: 03/06/09 v Golden Lions
Test Record v Australia: 4(1-1-2)

Rob Kearney returns for his second tour with the British & Irish Lions with the aim of emulating his world class performances of four years ago.

Ireland's full back took over from the injured Lee Byrne in the first international against South Africa and produced some scintillating displays throughout the Test series, claiming the Lions' solitary try in the Battle of Pretoria in the second rubber.

The double European champion is dominant under the high ball, has a big left boot and is a clever broken-field runner who should be suited to the hard, fast tracks of Australia.

Kearney played Gaelic football as a youth for Louth in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship and was a stalwart in the Clongowes Wood College school rugby side. He made his Leinster debut against the Ospreys in September 2005 at the age of 19, just months after helping University College, Dublin to a McCorry Cup victory over Trinity College.

Eddie O'Sullivan awarded Kearney, who represented his country at schoolboy, U19 and A level, his first Ireland cap against Argentina in the summer of 2007.

He played in the 2008 RBS 6 Nations, but it was a year later when Kearney produced his most spectacular form. Kearney was a permanent feature in the Ireland team that won the Grand Slam and the Leinster side that lifted the Heineken Cup before his stand-out tour with the Lions in South Africa.

A knee injury against the All Blacks in November 2010 cut his season short and he missed out on Leinster's second European triumph but returned in time to play in his first Rugby World Cup in 2011.

He won the Heineken Cup with Leinster for the second time in 2012 when his nine appearances yielded six tries and earned him the prestigious ERC Player of the Year award. He was a try scorer in Leinster's Amlin Challenge Cup final win over Stade Francais Paris.