It's all change for Rob Kearney at provincial and international level. The full-back will be part of the new Ireland era under Joe Schmidt, while Matt O'Connor has just started his tenure at Leinster.
But there is an even bigger change for Kearney this year. Yesterday, the Dundalk native was unveiled as the new Chairman of IRUPA (the Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association).
Last night the 27-year-old dropped into studio for a chat with Ger and Joe.
He stressed the importance of his new role which oversees player welfare.
"Players have to be looked after," said the Ireland cap. "We need to be in a position where we can voice our opinions. Our main goal is to make sure the players' safety and welfare is always the priority. That is most pertinent in concussion."
The other change for Kearney is that ex-Leinster team-mates Jonny Sexton and Isa Nacewa have departed. Kearney reserved plenty of praise for Nacewa, a team-mate he enjoyed playing with. The same gratitude was extended to Sexton.
Jonny is now plying his trade for Parisians Racing Metro after a much-publicized move and he has already been in the thick of the action in a fixture-crammed Top 14. Ger asked Rob if he is tempted by a playing career in France.
"Part of you says thank God I'm still in pre-season," he replied. "He'll be seven games in when some of us will hopefully taking the field for the first time. But then there's a little bit of envy there. He's gone over to a cool new city with a new lifestyle and getting paid a fortune. There's a lot of variables you need to weigh up. There's definitely some envy there."
But he will line out with his good friend in the green shirt of Ireland. But it is unlikely that Joe Schmidt will be afforded a lengthy transitional period.
"That's one of the difficulties when you have a new national coach coming. We'll have two weeks before that first game so there isn't a huge amount of time. It will be a work in progress. Things aren't going to happen immediately for the Irish team. It's not saying were not going to win though because we're well capable of doing that."
Finding cohesion quickly is something that has echoes of the Lions tour during the summer. Head coach Warren Gatland was not the most popular person in Ireland after dropping Brian O'Driscoll for the final test, but on a personal level, Kearney had no issues with the New Zealander.
"I don't think I'm in a position to have too many grudges from the summer but the hamstring did come at a bad time. I just had too much to make up by the time I did come back."
And finally, Kearney also touched on the potentially damaging effects of a breakaway from the Heineken Cup by French and English clubs.
He believes it will be to the detriment of the Six Nations, particularly from Ireland's perspective.
Listen to the full interview below or download the Wednesday Night Rugby podcast on iTunes. It includes an analysis of the ERC talks over the Heineken Cup with Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times.
