Howley backs Earls to bounce back

KEITH EARLS may want to forget the day he first donned the famous & Lions jersey, but backs coach Rob Howley is expecting the bitter-sweet experience to make the young Irishman a much better player.

The ball simply wouldn’t stick in the hands of the 21-year-old Munster centre in the first-half against a fired-up Royal XV in Phokeng and his frustration was summed up when he dropped an up-and-under and hacked it straight into touch in his 22.

Ironically, referee Marius Jonker indicated it had not been a knock-on and from the line-out the Royal XV scored their first try.

But there was an excuse as it was revealed yesterday by Lions doctor James Robson that Earls took an early blow to his right shoulder when home prop Albertus Buckle landed on him. He will not be able to training for two or three days, ruling him out for Wednesday night’s clash with the Golden Lions at Coca Cola Park.

Earls’ first-half performance typified that of his team. It was all fingers and thumbs and lacking in composure. But the Lions pulled the rabbit out of the hat in the end, overturning a 12 point deficit in the final 14 minutes to win 37-25.

“Keith had one of those games that we’ve all had – we’ve all got the T-Shirt,” said Lions backs coach Rob Howley.

“He will be disappointed. He is young, he made mistakes, but I’m sure he will bounce back.

“Every player on this Lions tour has gone out and found that, for whatever reason, the ball hasn’t bounced their way.

“Wearing the Lions badge can sometimes make you feel 6ft 8in tall, but then you go out and drop the first ball and all of a sudden you are trying to get your game back on track. You could see Keith’s frustration when he kicked that ball out.

“He will be a 10 times better player for that experience and I’m sure he will bounce back and show why he was picked for the tour in the first place. The player himself and his team mates will pull him through.”

When he finally left the field after 67 minutes, Earls had just seen the Royal XV score their third try to extend their lead to 25-13. At that stage, many feared the worst for Paul O’Connell’s men and a first defeat in an opening game for the Lions since 1971.

Yet no sooner had they found themselves in a highly precarious predicament than they responded with two moments of genuine class. A solo try from the best Lions player on the pitch, full back Lee Byrne, cut the gap to five points and then a good old fashioned line-out rumble ended with replacement lock Alun-Wyn Jones crossing from close range.

Ronan O’Gara added a bit of icing on the cake at the end when he took an inside pass from Martyn Williams to race to the posts and convert for a personal tally of 22 points, leaving him just three short of a century for the Lions.

The Irish influence was vital for the Lions because it was an intuitive inside pass from O’Gara to Tommy Bowe at the end of the first-half that created the Lion’s first try on tour. Without that score they would have gone into the interval 15 points adrift.

Then it took the cool head of O’Connell to calm everyone down in those heated closing stages when his side were staring defeat in the face.

“Paul told the players they just had to keep the ball, show some composure and show some talent,” revealed Howley.

“Lee Byrne’s try was a fantastic individual effort and he can feel very proud of because it got us back into the game. Those final 14 minutes showed the true Lions spirit – real resilience with your backs against the wall. I didn’t expect us to be 12 points down with only 10 minutes to go, but the resilience they showed revealed the ingredients that are required to be a Lion.”

The Lions hit back when they were down and everyone is backing Earls to do the same. His centre partner Jamie Roberts, who made two or three big line breaks, was the first to step forward to speak on his behalf.

“The only way you learn is by playing. I was pleased to be playing alongside Keith to form such a young centre pairing,” said Roberts.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t have been pleased with some of the dropped balls, but that’s the way it goes. I’m sure he will get the chance to put the jersey on again and do it justice, because he is a hell of a player.”

ROYAL XV: R Jeacocks, E Seconds, D van Rensburg, H Coetzee, B Basson, N Olivier (R Viljoen 56), S Pretorius (J Coetzee 69), A Buckle (S Roberts 54), R Barnes (P van der Westhuizen 69), B Roux, R Mathee, J Lombaard (R Landman 56), W Koch [capt], D Raubenheimer, J Mokuena

Scorers: Tries: R Barnes, W Koch, B Roux; Cons: N Olivier, R Viljoen; Pens: N Olivier (2)

LIONS: L Byrne, T Bowe, K Earls (R Flutey 67), J Roberts, S Williams, R O’Gara, M Blair (M Phillips 67), A Sheridan, M Rees (L Mears 69), A Jones (P Vickery 67), S Shaw (A-W Jones 67), P O’Connell [capt], J Worsley, M Williams, D Wallace (J Heaslip 67)

Scorers: Tries: R O’Gara, T Bowe, L Byrne, A-W Jones; Cons: R O’Gara (4) ; Pens: R O’Gara (3)

Man of the Match: J Mokuena.

Referee: Marius Jonker (SA).