Luke Keary reflected on one of the most memorable moments of his career after inspiring Ireland to a 48-2 victory over Jamaica in their opening game of the Rugby League World Cup at Headingley.
The Sydney Roosters half-back is a former NRL Grand Final winner but admitted the chance to finally represent his country on the biggest stage ran all of his glittering domestic experiences close.
Keary, denied the chance to compete for Ireland in 2017 due to injury, said: “It wasn’t to be in 2017 but it is something that has been coming for a long time and it means so much to me and my family.
“I got a bit emotional last night when I finally got to see the jersey with my name on it. I’ve had some pretty special experiences but it is one of the proudest moments of my career.”
Ireland ran in 10 tries against the Jamaicans, who were making their World Cup debut and earned one of the biggest cheers when Kieran Rush kicked their only points of the game after the first-half hooter.
Louis Senior was the only man to cross twice but it was Keary who was given the space to steal the show and he admitted the scoreline could have been much harsher but for some gutsy last-ditch defending from Ireland’s outclassed opponents.
The performance earned praise from Ireland head coach Ged Corcoran, who said: “I am immensely proud, not just of the group of the players but also the staff, and that is one box ticked off.
“But for the questionable penalty call we would have had a nice big fat zero, so I’m really proud of the scoreboard. We have set the benchmark but we have got to go up another 15 or 20 levels against Lebanon next week.”
Jamaica captain Ashton Golding praised his side’s effort and commitment and insisted they had been far from overawed despite fashioning few chances to make an impression against their higher-standard opponents.
Centre Jacob Ogden was the only member of the Reggae Warriors to trouble the video referee when he narrowly failed to get on the end of a grubber kick in the 10th minute.
Huddersfield star Golding said: “It was a really special and emotional day. You don’t have to catch every ball or make every pass, you just have to be ready to take the next ball and I never saw us give up at any point.
“I would rather be part of a team like that than go out and win 50-0 easily, because it is such a good foundation and we know what we have to work on going into our game against New Zealand next week.
“People always talk about the destination and having got to the peak. But for me, once you’ve got to the top of one mountain there is always another one to climb.
“We’ve been on a long journey and we’ve had to dig into our own pockets at times, but you can’t fault the desire, attitude and effort from the boys. We will be going back into the dressing room as proud as punch.”
