Tipoki: Earls can match All Blacks great Cullen

RUA Tipoki has compared Munster and Ireland sensation, Keith Earls, to All Black great, Christian Cullen, saying more international exposure for the 21-year-old can take the Limerick man to greater heights.

The former New Zealand Maori captain has missed most of Munster’s Heineken Cup campaign through injury, but he’s delighted the progress Earls has made at outside centre this season, a position usually filled by a Tipoki since his arrival in Munster in 2007.

“Keith’s magic. He’s brilliant,” enthused Tipoki. “I love watching what he does when he gets his hands on the ball. He reminds me of a young Christian Cullen — he ghosts through the gaps without making it look hard.

“It’s great to see him playing well and hopefully we can see him get a few opportunities in the Six Nations because the more time he gets playing top level rugby the better for us in Munster.”

Tipoki says he is up to “90-99% fitness” on a comeback from his latest injury (hamstring) and is expected to return for Munster’s Magners League game against Edinburgh on February 21.

Asked whether it was hard watching Munster’s Heineken Cup highs from the stands, Tipoki said: “No, it’s a lot easier to watch when things are going well — it wasn’t as hard as it would have been if we had been struggling.

“I was really enjoying the rugby they were playing. I would have loved to have been a part of it, but that’s for the next time.”