Kennedy determined to rise to the challenge

HEINEKEN CUP POOL SIX: John O'Sullivanprofiles the London Irish secondrow whose club face a must-win encounter against reigning champions, Leinster, this evening

DELVING INTO Nick Kennedy’s past provides a gateway to the present. To untangle the man behind the rugby player it’s instructive to examine his genealogy both in the context of ancestry, but perhaps on a more engaging level, the events that shaped his sporting career.

Kennedy could have played for Ireland; indeed he was invited to do so. His grandmother on his father’s side hailed from Co Limerick and prior to winning a first England A cap he received a phone call from the then Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan asking if he would consider declaring for Ireland.

Born in Southampton, educated at Claire’s Court School in Maidenhead, the British School in Brussels – he would spend three years in Belgium and three in America before returning to Brussels for a year – and then on to Portsmouth University, he didn’t have to agonise for too long. The fact that his father, Shaun, is an ardent England rugby supporter facilitated his decision, certainly in terms of family harmony.

“I’ve always considered myself English through and through. It was nice to get the call, and would have made my Nan happy for sure, but it wasn’t for me.”

His Nan will have to console herself with the fact he plays for London Irish and that his sister Kate is studying English and Drama at Trinity College, Dublin.

His current professional calling represents the end of a colourful journey that took several detours before arriving at Sunbury and latterly the Madejski Stadium. It’s apposite that he should end up in a ground that houses not alone London Irish but their landlords, Reading football club.

Kennedy’s first love was soccer, playing for his school and a local team and attending Reading matches, albeit standing on the terraces in their former home at Elm Green. He recalled one particularly memorable afternoon when a pitch demonstration by disgruntled fans provided the perfect distraction to allow some teenage kids to live the dream.

“Everything was mental; I was 14 so I didn’t really know what it was about. They (Reading) were doing very badly. Myself and a couple of friends ran onto the pitch. We’d brought our own ball, one of those cheap ones and were just kicking it around.

“Everyone else was chanting at the chairman and we were just crossing (the ball) and shooting at the goal. The highlight from a personal perspective was tucking the ball in the bottom right hand corner. Unfortunately our game came to an abrupt end when the groundsman came over and put his fork right through our ball.

“I didn’t really enjoy rugby that much at school. When I first went to university, I started playing basketball; then I quit that and literally enjoyed the student life in its purest partying form. By a series of lucky coincidences I ended up playing for Portsmouth (University) first team in my second year and then London Irish under-21s.

“I had emailed Conor O’Shea (then director of rugby at London Irish) and he said come along for a trial. That summer I lived in Marlowe which is about 35 minutes away from Sunbury. I had a three-month trial and then they got the squad down to 30 and I made that. In my final year at university I was commuting up from Portsmouth three times a week to train with the under-21s.”

Having played on the wing at school and university, the Exiles decided that his talents were better utilised in the secondrow. He was voted young player of the year in the 2002-2003 season, played his first senior match against the Newcastle Falcons in December 2002 and since then he has become an indispensable member of the first team.

At 6ft 7ins he could be a poster boy for the modern forward in rugby, wonderfully athletic, possessing a skill set that would embarrass some backs and in tandem with Bob Casey forming the most feared lineout axis in the Guinness Premiership over several seasons.

His prowess was recognised first in selection for the England Saxons and then at full Test level. His current tally of seven caps – he played all five matches in the 2009 Six Nations Championship – seems something of a travesty when considering some who have periodically muscled past him in the Red Rose pecking order.

He’s had to be patient, no more so than now as he languishes with the Saxons. He admitted: “I do stay very positive about it. I have got seven caps and I was very pleased with the work I did last year with England.

“All it is doing is making me a better player. I am just trying to improve every aspect of the game so the next time that I get an opportunity – and I know I am going to get an opportunity – then I am going to be there for a long time as opposed to a short time.”

His immediate priority is today’s pivotal Pool Six clash against Leinster at Twickenham. In the reverse fixture at the RDS he was involved in an incident that led to Leinster flanker Shane Jennings receiving a 12-week ban.

“An incident happened on the pitch; he was punished for it and that’s the end of it. I haven’t thought about it since.”

London Irish’s defeat to the Scarlets last weekend has left the Exiles in a tenuous position with regard to qualification, an unthinkable position when they beat Leinster on the opening weekend of the pool games.

“The meeting that we had on Monday was a tough one. Looking at the clips, you have to give credit to Llanelli, they did very well. They got tries late on when normally our defence holds strong. We were very disappointed that we were in a commanding position, threw that lead away and then lost the losing bonus point as well.

“That’s the first time we have not taken anything from a game, a win or a losing bonus point, for 18 months. That was a very proud record because we have always been competitive. To lose it like that was very disappointing. Our future is not in our hands. It was a very big loss for the club.

“Scoring four tries (today) is not on any of our minds. I have played Leinster twice this year and they are one of the best defensive teams. We are going to get the win – sorry, go all out to get the win – and then hope other results go our way. It’s about the integrity of our performance that we must focus on.”

Away from the pitch, the engaging Kennedy displays something of an artistic bent, probably derived from his mother, Jill, the country’s most celebrated silk painter and author of five books on the subject. He’s a bit of a film buff but given one wish, he’d love to be in a band.

Kennedy laughs: “What would I like to be when I grow up? I’d love to be in a band.”

Self-taught on the guitar via YouTube, he’s decided to formalise his education, going for his second guitar lesson during the week. He’s admirably pragmatic.

"I like all sorts of music but a lot of what I decide to play is what's easy: any three-chord songs like Wonderwall(Oasis) and Beautiful(James Blunt)."

Once hugely superstitious, he’s managed to now limit it to touching wood every now and again. “I used to eat the exact same thing the night before, the exact same on match day and pack my kit in the same order. The more I relaxed about one, the more I realised the others don’t matter.”

What does concern him is today’s vital clash at Twickenham.