Former Irish rugby star Rob Kearney has spoken openly about his wedding day, admitting it wasn’t the “best day of his life”. The Louth-born sportsman married Jess Redden in December 2021 at the luxurious Trump International Hotel in Doonbeg, Co Clare.

However, during an appearance on the podcast “Insights with Sean O’Rourke”, the former Irish international revealed that this occasion was not one of his top ten days ever.

On the subject, he explained: “I’m sure she won’t mind if I say this, but when I talk to Jess about our wedding day, it’s always like this… She thinks that was the best day of her life, there’s nothing that could compare to her wedding day, the best day of her life.”

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“I loved it and would love to do it again, but in my head I think, ‘Jesus Christ, that’s not in the top ten of my life.’ I won Heineken Cups and Grand Slams and beat the All Blacks.

“Our wedding day is completely out of reach for us.”

However, Rob admitted that one special day overshadowed all others: the birth of his son Bobby Brian in 2023, reports the Irish Mirror.

“And I thought nothing could ever compare to some of those great victories, but the birth of your first child made all those sporting days so insignificant,” he said.

“Family life has become the greatest meaning in my life.”

Reflecting on fatherhood and his hopes for his son, Rob admitted, “I have a son now and I would be very, very disappointed if he didn’t play team sports,” expressing his wish that Bobby Brian would follow in his sporting footsteps.

“I think it’s so important for people to have the soft skills of life that, in my experience, many people today take for granted.”

Looking back on his time in rugby, Rob added: “If you don’t have a thick skin, there’s a chance you won’t survive in this profession.”

“That’s part of it. And that can develop over the years. There have definitely been things said to me that I’ve taken to heart and that have hurt me a lot, but you just learn to move on and deal with it.”

Speaking about his experiences with Joe Schmidt, he described the New Zealander as a “ruthless coach” and admitted that it was “difficult” to work under him.

He noted: “He was a ruthless coach. That’s what he was. The ultimate perfectionist. If you deviated even a little from what he wanted you to do, you got two punches between the eyes.

“It was difficult working under him, in that kind of regime – constant stress, constant pressure and anxiety from Monday to Friday – so match day was sometimes the easier part of the week.

“But that was a big part of his coaching philosophy. He wanted to put the players under as much pressure as possible from Monday to Friday, so that the easy part was on Saturday.”

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