Rocky Kenneally found himself at a Leinster summer camp in King’s Hospital. It was a present from his Irish grandmother. Kenneally lived in Marbella, so perhaps part of granny’s incentive was to get something that required spending time in these parts. Four years on, he ended up staying a lot longer than anyone planned.
Coming in at 6ft 7in these days, Kenneally wasn’t that tall back then, but he still attracted attention. Joey Carbery’s father was involved in the camp and asked Kenneally where he would be playing Junior Cup rugby that season.
Come again?
Rocky hadn’t a Scooby-Doo. Despite his Irish surname, schools rugby culture did not extend to the south coast of Spain. Born near Cambridge in the UK, Kenneally moved to Marbella when he was just a year old.
He is bilingual and speaks English with a mixed lilt, the byproduct of an English mother, Irish father and years spent boarding at Blackrock College. “Everyone in Ireland calls it an English accent and everyone in England calls it an Irish accent,” says Kenneally, laughing. “People aren’t used to it.” Presumably, his Spanish sounds more, well, Spanish.
The conversation with Carbery put Blackrock, Joey’s alma mater, on Kenneally’s radar. He fancied the idea of boarding. The rugby was appealing too. Four years on, a few months after appearing in the Leinster Senior Cup final, Kenneally has been selected for the World Rugby Under-20 Championship. Only not with Ireland, but Spain.
He first played with Marbella Rugby Club, but living in the Irish schools system accelerated his development. A secondrow who isn’t allowed to slide into the backrow because he’s “too tall” (Kenneally’s own words), he weighs in at 106kg and has plenty of time to fill out. He only played twice off the bench in this year’s Senior Cup but still has another year to go, having just finished fifth year. Aged 18, he says he’s also eligible for another two years of U20 rugby.
“It was a bit of a culture shock, but I liked it,” he says of moving to Blackrock. “I started off playing in the U14s. It wasn’t as demanding as Junior Cup or Senior Cup but it was still gym in the morning and stuff like that. After the first year I got used to it and it’s been my routine for the last few years.
“I wanted to go to boarding school for studies as well. I just love boarding school, it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I call it as a nine-month sleepover with all my friends.”
Blackrock’s Rocky Kenneally celebrates a win over Cistercian College Roscrea in the Schools Junior Cup in 2024. Photograph: Nick Elliott/Inpho
If the Irish system improved his rugby ability, it also helped to get spotted by Spain. Taking advantage of transition year, Kenneally found work experience opportunities back home in Marbella closer to his family. May as well play some club rugby while there. When he lined out in the Spanish championships, it piqued the interest of the national scouts. Contact details were exchanged.
“I didn’t hear from them for five, six months,” he says. “But then they said we’d like you to come to a camp back in October to prepare for U18 European Championship. First and second in the Euros got through to the U18 Six Nations. They won it in October so I was able to go to this year’s Six Nations in Vichy.” Spain lost to Italy and Ireland at the U18s competition but ended by beating Wales by a solitary point.
Progression from there wasn’t linear. Kenneally was initially dropped when Spain assembled their U20 group for this World Cup. He is two years young for the age group. Still, they could only overlook a 6ft 7in secondrow for so long. “I didn’t join them until two weeks ago,” says Kenneally. “They were swapping people in and out to have a look at who was going to stay.”
Kenneally isn’t the first Irish interest to play for Spain at this level. Last year, Leitrim native Liam McNamee featured. “My Blackrock roommate plays for Czech 18s,” Kenneally adds. “My best friend also plays for the Swiss Under-18s sevens.” Clearly, nations with smaller talent pools are more than happy to take advantage of the rugby education qualified players receive on these shores.
Which creates options for those who are good enough. It’s difficult to say where someone like Kenneally goes from here. Despite the international recognition, we haven’t seen much of him at Senior Cup level. There has been no contact from the IRFU, for whom Kenneally qualifies alongside England and Spain. In many ways, what happens next depends on who comes knocking.
“In Spain, there isn’t a pathway as such, but as soon as you turn 18, you go and play for a senior club, be that first division, second, third,” he explains. “Lots of people go to France and play as well. It’s just playing adult rugby at the age of 18.
“I’ve got no specific plan in place, the main thing for me is enjoying my rugby because when people fall out of love with the sport, that’s what ruins it for them. I’ve got no plan for the future, but I’ll go for whatever pathway is best to go pro.”
First up, Spain face Australia on Saturday in Georgia. Then France, the Apollo Creed of U20s rugby. Last up in the pool stages is Fiji.
A tall order for someone still in school, perhaps. Sure he wouldn’t be the first man named Rocky to enjoy being the underdog.