Leading rugby star Rob Kearney has confirmed that he supports the campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment to the Constitution.

Kearney, who has accumulated 76 caps for his country, is one of the leading players of his generation. He has made a total of 185 appearances for Leinster.

“It’s something that people feel very strongly about,” Kearney says of the Repeal campaign, to interviewer Anne Sexton. “I think we do need to change.”

He is confident that the appetite is there in government to proceed with the required steps.

"I know we’ll have a referendum on it next year,” he adds. "Leo Varadkar has put it quite high up on his list. I just think that second time around we’ll give it an awful lot more thought, and people will be a lot more educated (in their voting).”

In a fascinating interview, published in the new issue of the magazine (with Foo Fighters on the cover), the Ireland full-back – who is an ambassador for Audi – talks about his hopes and ambitions, U2, the injuries that have interrupted his career, and the loneliness of being a full time professional sportsperson.