URC top-tryscorer Joshua Kenny faced 'hang up boots' decision

Joshua Kenny is in seventh heaven having emerged as one of the real breakthrough players of this season.

The 22-year-old winger only made his Leinster Rugby debut in October, but has proved a prolific addition to their ranks, scoring 11 tries in his 12 appearances.

Nine of those have come in the BKT URC, making him the league’s joint top try scorer alongside two back row men – the DHL Stormers’ Evan Roos and Connacht Rugby’s Sean Jansen.

His predatory prowess earned him a call up to the Ireland XV for the international against England A at Limerick’s Thomond Park in February, an occasion he almost inevitably marked with a try.

As befits such a speedster, it’s been a remarkably rapid rise for the young man from Enniskerry who started out with Greystones RFC in County Wicklow.

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It’s all the more notable given he was facing an uncertain future last summer, with the IRFU having ended its Sevens programme. Kenny had represented his country around the world in the condensed form of the game, proving a hit with his pace and elusive running. So, it was obviously a blow for him when Ireland exited the Sevens circuit.

“I really enjoyed my time there,” he said. “It was amazing, some of the trips I got to go on.

“To travel the world and play rugby at the same time was a really, really cool experience.

“Then, when it ended, there was a decision in our hands, whether we wanted to try and keep on playing or whether we were going to hang up the boots.”

Kenny decided to carry on and went knocking on Leinster’s door.

After impressing in training, he was handed his debut as a replacement against the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Round 3 of the BKT URC in October and hasn’t looked back since.

He made his first start a fortnight later at home to Zebre Parma and marked the occasion with a brace of tries, while there were to be further doubles against Dragons RFC, La Rochelle and the Scarlets. “I’m just delighted I got the opportunity to prove myself with Leinster,” he says. “I just tried to keep things simple, moving on from the Sevens. I know I’m quite lucky to have got the opportunity. I didn’t get to do all of the academy years, but I’m still young enough to see that pathway for growth.”

Kenny believes his time in Sevens has served him well when it comes to the 15-a-side game.

“I think the main thing it taught me was the pressure on each moment and your clarity of thinking in each moment,” he says.

“Sevens is played seven minutes a half, 14 minutes in a game. As you can imagine, you’re very tired, but while also being very tired, you still need to have that clarity of thinking. You need to know where you need to be and make decisions under pressure, because you might have one opportunity to score in a game, and if you don’t take it, then that’s it.

“Likewise, in defence, when it’s seven-on-seven, you’re defending a lot of space. There’s a lot of pressure on every tackle you make. If you miss a tackle, the opposition has broken your line, and it’s tough to catch them when you’ve already defended a few phases.

“I think that was the biggest thing for me when I started playing in the World Series, just dealing with that pressure every moment. When you’re facing your opposite man, you have to make the tackle. Your team around you is relying on that.

“The exposure to that kind of professional environment and the travelling, playing in stadiums around the world, you are getting that sense of what it feels like to be in that kind of cauldron and pressure. You have to be speaking a lot louder, as well, when you’re in those environments. Everything that goes with playing in a stadium in high-intensity matches taught me a lot about a number of different things.”

Kenny’s try scoring has played an important part in Leinster recovering from a slow start to the defence of their BKT URC crown to lie fourth going into Friday night’s huge inter-provincial showdown with third-placed Ulster Rugby in Belfast.

They will head into that derby on a high having booked an Investec Champions Cup semi-final spot with a 43-13 victory over Sale on the weekend – a 14th win from their last 16 matches in all competitions.

“I don’t think there is any secret. It’s just trying to take every game as it comes,” said Kenny.

“It sounds super cliche, but that’s honestly been my main focus for the matches I’ve played so far this season, just focusing on what’s in front of me, keeping things simple.

“It has paid off. I’ve been fortunate enough to get a good few starts.”

And a good few tries as well.