Irish provinces Munster, Leinster and Ulster have been in the thick of the action for years in Europe's premier club competition, not only winning four of the last six finals but often battling to get out of tough pools with grandstand finales.
While Ireland are well placed on top of Pool C having beaten Australia, defeat by Italy on Sunday in Dunedin in their final group game could knock them out of the tournament depending on the Italians' result against the United States today.
In years gone by that sort of scenario might have been enough to give Ireland the jitters but things are different now, according to Kearney.
"We are sort of lucky with the Heineken Cup at home that we often find ourselves in these scenarios that, come round six, you could be going either way," he said of the often tension-racked pool-stage finales.
"It's a massive help because knockout rugby is different and it's something you might not always be used to. Whether you like it or not, it's a much higher-pressure situation, knowing if you do lose, you could be going home. So I'd like to think those games will stand to us hugely.
"Experience is the word. It's just about dealing with those pressure situations, do your basics. Like any other big game where there's a huge amount on the line, you have to limit your errors massively and take those opportunities when they come."
Kearney, one of the best running fullbacks in the game, is particularly keen to take his chance after a knee injury threatened to keep him out of the tournament completely.
That would have been a huge blow for Ireland and the 25-year-old, who already has much to be proud of.
In a stellar 2009 he helped Leinster win the Heineken Cup, was an ever-present in Ireland's grand slam winning Six Nations side and played all three tests for the British and Irish Lions in South Africa.
A knee injury suffered in last November's defeat by New Zealand ended his season, keeping him out of Leinster's second Heineken Cup success and the entire Six Nations - which left him watching from afar as Ireland struggled to a last-gasp 13-11 win in Rome.
"We have a huge amount of respect for Italy and in our last game against them they came very close to beating us in a game we played poorly in," he said of what turned out to be Ireland's 15th successive victory over the Italians.
"We played pretty poorly and we did leave a lot of opportunities behind but it was a last-minute drop goal that got the win for us and we were very lucky to come away with the win.
"Everybody knows Italy have been targeting this game, massively. It's the one all along where they felt they could create a huge upset and so we know as well they will probably be putting a little bit more into this game for us than some others.
"But I think the national team have shown throughout the last few years that when the chips are down and we need to win, we can win. We know how to win as players, in provinces and in our country. Winning is not an issue for us."