Rob Kearney says it is unfair to try to compare Ireland's current style of play at international level to the type of rugby Leinster played under Joe Schmidt before the former head coach took over the national side.
Off The Ball's Joe Molloy caught up with the Leinster and Ireland full-back in the wake of the Six Nations defeat to France and the game against England the weekend after next.
The 29-year-old feels Ireland's approach - which has received criticism in some quarters as conservative - plays to our strengths, highlighting how the "template has worked" in the last two Six Nations - with the exception of the World Cup loss at the hands of Argentina last October.
"It is difficult and maybe a little bit unfair to compare a Leinster team playing in Europe to an Ireland team playing on the world stage. They're very different and I think sometimes you have to play to your strengths. It is a template that has worked in the Six Nations over the last couple of years. It's won us two championships back-to-back," he said, while emphasising the impact that conditions can have.
Kearney was speaking to Joe at Laya Healthcare's Head On Concussion Management Programme launch and he described concussion as the "one type of injury that you get that does worry you more than the others".
But he also feels that a distinction should be made between American football and rugby when discussing the issue.
"I think it's important too to sort of highlight a little bit as well, a lot of people can sometimes make reference between American football and rugby. They see the big collisions but they are two very different sports," he said, adding that "I don't think there's necessarily a definite synergy between the two sports and the types of injuries you can get".
Highlighting a personal on-field experience, he says that the culture surrounding how to deal with concussion is changing in rugby in comparison to many years ago.
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