THERE WAS A moment earlier this year when it was feared Keith Earls’ days as a pro rugby player were numbered. The veteran winger injured his groin against the Sharks in late April, and after Munster confirmed he would be sidelined for ‘a number of weeks’ it looked as though Earls might not play for Munster again.
Two months later, Earls was on the pitch in Cape Town as Munster ended their long trophy drought with a brilliant URC title win and tomorrow he gets a chance to stake his claim for a place in Ireland’s World Cup squad.
It’s been a remarkable couple of months on the back of what was often a difficult season for one of Munster and Ireland’s greatest players, but so much of Earls’ career has been remarkable. There’s a reason they call him ‘The Man’ in Munster, and Earls will be hoping the final chapter of a brilliant international career takes place at his fourth World Cup.
It’s been over a year since Earls last lined out in green. He came off the bench in the third Test of last summer’s tour to New Zealand, with the first Test – where he scored the opening try after just six minutes – the last time he started a game for Ireland. He’s been stuck on 98 caps since, missing the autumn internationals through injury and not making a matchday squad during the Six Nations after being hampered by injury in the build-up to the tournament.
Andy Farrell isn’t the type of coach to just hand out caps but he’d love to see Earls hit the century milestone. He’ll move one step closer when he starts against Italy tomorrow [KO 8pm]. There’s no guarantee he’ll make it to 100 but the fact that Earls is still competing at the highest level is testament in itself to a wonderful career.
Having debuted for Munster back in the autumn of 2007, his first Ireland cap arrived a year later – scoring a try in a 55-0 rout of Canada which marked the first game of the Declan Kidney era.
By the time the 2009/10 season rolled around Earls was a mainstay of the team. It’s only in the last two years that Earls has slipped out of the Ireland starting team – apart from a couple of significant injury setbacks – but Farrell has always made his admiration for the Limerick man clear. For the second meeting with the Maori All Blacks last summer, Farrell handed Earls the Ireland captaincy for the first time.
That respect clearly goes both ways. In his compelling autobiography, Fight or Flight, Earls revealed his battle with bipolar disorder and detailed how Farrell had ensured he felt comfortable within the Ireland camp.
That’s the more human side of the Earls-Farrell relationship but the Ireland coach is a clearly a big fan of what the Munster player adds to the squad, too. He’s not the same player he was at the peak of his powers but Earls – who will turn 36 on October 2 – still brings a lot to the table, as evidenced in his contribution across Munster’s run to URC success.
Last season he featured just nine times for Munster, starting five games, but managed to deliver big performances on the biggest days. In the URC semi-final win over Leinster at Aviva Stadium, Earls produced an massive 80-minute shift and then made an impact off the bench in the final defeat of the Stormers. After the Leinster game, Earls admitted he had shed a tear on the pitch as he reflected on what had been “a rough season” for him personally.
His late-season resurgence was admirable to watch but he’s by no way a safe bet to travel to France. Earls no longer carries the same attacking threat as some of Farrell’s other wing options – last season was his first without a try for Munster since his debut campaign in 2007/08, where he only played four times.
Yet Earls isn’t in this Ireland squad for his try-scoring ability. Farrell places huge value in the experience players like Earls and Cian Healy bring to the environment and the winger’s defensive work is a big selling point – over the last couple of seasons, many of his biggest plays have been try-saving, or tone-setting tackles in some of Munster’s biggest games.
Will it be enough to earn a place on the plane to France? At the moment, it’s hard to know, but the Italy game should give a clearer indication of where things stand.
His fate could depend on how others fare. Tomorrow is also a big opportunity for Jacob Stockdale, who hasn’t played for Ireland since 2021, while in-form Munster winger Calvin Nash will hope to debut off the bench.
Otherwise, Mack Hansen and James Lowe are nailed on to travel to France. Jimmy O’Brien is likely to make the cut as a versatile option who can provide cover for Hugo Keenan at fullback, and while Jamie Osborne is more naturally a centre, he can play at wing or fullback. Earls can play centre too, but hasn’t started a game there since October 2021. Andrew Conway has also been back in the building at Abbotstown, training as an unofficial squad member.
All of Farrell’s back three options have their qualities but something has to give as the Ireland boss cuts a 42-man panel to 33.
Earls has lived through it all across a remarkable 16-year career and while the competition is fierce, it would be no surprise to see him make it to a fourth Rugby World Cup. Farrell has always backed Earls and tomorrow ‘The Man’ has a chance to prove he can still do it for Ireland.
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