Luke of the Irish: Keary savours magical World Cup debut

At just 30 years of age, Luke Keary has enjoyed the sort of career many players can only dream of with three premierships, a Clive Churchill Medal, two Tests for Australia and a Blues Origin jersey.

Each and every one of those achievements has been a source of immense pride for the Keary family, but that emotion went to a whole new level when Luke pulled on the Ireland jersey for the first time in their World Cup opener against Jamaica.

Keary had hoped to be part of the 2017 World Cup before injury cruelled his chances, so the Roosters star has been sure to soak up all the camaraderie and craic of the Wolfhounds camp this time around.

"I’ve been lucky enough to do some pretty special stuff [in footy] but to be over here at this moment with this team representing this country is something that will stay with me forever," said Keary, whose grandfather hails from Loughrea in County Galway.

"It was a retty cool night, great to see mum and dad in the crowd and I know how much it will mean to dad and his family. He is bringing the family over from Ireland next week and they are all pretty pumped to come and watch."

Having waited five years to represent his heritage, Keary made up for lost time with a player of the match performance in the 48-2 victory at Headingley.

The next challenge for Ireland comes in a week's time against Mitchell Moses' Lebanon Cedars outfit, with the winner booking themselves a spot in the quarter-finals.

"This is something that has been coming for a long time. All the way back to being a kid, heritage has been a big part of my family," Keary said.

"Dad's always passed it down. It's something we've always been proud of. To realise that dream tonight is pretty special.

"I was a bit emotional the night before the game when I finally got to see the jersey and you see your name on the back, would be one of the proudest moments of my footy career. It's hard to describe that feeling.

"It has been a great couple of weeks, we've immersed ourselves in it and had the music going every day. To hear 'Ireland's Call' before you go out to play it’s a special moment.

"People have told me some stories about where I’m from that I had no idea about and you do get a lot more knowledegable on the country and the history and that’s a big part of why the last couple of weeks has been special."

Ireland coach Ged Corcoran was happy with what he saw from his men in the 10-try romp against Cup newcomers Jamaica but he knows life will get a whole tougher against the Cedars.

"I challenged the boys to show some pride and they did that," Corcoran said post-match.

"That’s the benchmark their tonight but next week we’re going to go up about 15-20 levels.

"It's a new group, a different calibre of blokes that come from different systems but I'm really proud that they didn’t bring any of their club football into it they brought the culture of Ireland and our football.

"We'll keep spreading the word and this culture of what we are building towards the 2025 World Cup and beyond. We laid a benchmark there tonight for our kids back home.

"That's objective one done. It would’ve been good to keep a nice fat zero against us but we only conceded one penalty goal on half-time from a 50-50 call."

After opening their account in the 13th minute through winger Louis Senior, the Irish quickly added two more tries to lock George King and hooker Brendan O'Hagan to lead 14-0 after 20 minutes.

Centre Ed Chamberlain's try in the 37th minute made it 18-0 at the break before Jamaica's resistance weakened in he second term and Ireland raced in six more tries.

The scoreline may have gotten away from the Reggae Warriors in the end but Keary was full of praise for their commitment.

"The game was awesome, Jamaica had a proper crack tonight," he said. "They stopped probably five or six tries and they turned up the whole night.

"We've ticked that first box but we’ve got a big challenge in front of us next week."