Earls no longer on a wing and a prayer

Older, wiser and more relaxed, Keith Earls at the grand old age of 25 has even left his rosary beads at home.

Like closing the door on the first chapter of his career, the Munster and Ireland centre kicked a myriad of superstitions to touch at the start of this season and while all his best years as a player remain in front of him, the appearance of even younger stars on the Irish rugby scene such as Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall and Paddy Jackson, Earls has had to shuffle along the bench a little in terms of seniority within the camp.

“They’re making me look like a senior player now,” Earls joked yesterday when asked about the impact of Gilroy and co. against Fiji last Saturday but 33 caps into a senior Ireland career that began at the age of 21, the man from Moyross is in an ideal position to see the pitfalls of getting one’s chance so young.

“There’s a lot of pressure on you to perform but for the young fellas coming through, they just have to concentrate on themselves and for the senior lads to let them play as well, not put too much of an onus on them.

“It’s obviously massive pressure as a 21-year-old, you’re still growing up even if some people will say you turn into a man at 21.

“But there’s that small bit of pressure on you when you’re on the world stage but if I had it all over again, I’d learn to relax a bit more.”

The art of relaxation has come slowly to Earls but he is enough at ease to have stopped those pre-match superstitions and, thanks to a visit by the Irish Olympic boxers to the squad three weeks ago, he is better prepared to deal with the pressure when it manifests.

“When the boxers came into us a couple of weeks ago, Kenny Egan was saying that he’s laughing and joking 15 minutes before he goes out and boxes,” Earls explained. “Once his 15 minutes comes up, he’s just thinking about the fight then, but previously up to that, he’s joking and I kind of took that on.

“I gave up all my superstitions and stuff like that because they were driving me mad — if I didn’t have rosary beads or didn’t do this and that. Sometimes I’d just try to have a different routine and not think about the game, because when I think about it I drive myself mad.”

Asked to elaborate, Earls added: “I’d have three different rosary beads and a medal, and I’m kissing them three times, or I have to kiss one four times — this kind of craic.

“But I just gave it all up, it was driving me mad. If I had forgotten my rosary beads, I’d think, ‘oh, I can’t play now’, but they’re all gone out the window.”

Instead there is a new, relaxed Keith Earls, particularly pre-match.

“I prefer to just turn up on the bus and then go out and play the game. That’s the kinda thing I’m trying to take on board, and it seems to be working. I head off into the warm-up area and if there’s tennis balls around, I’m kicking them against the wall or playing a game of handball up against the wall and a bit of music then as well, just laughing about.

“I might go into my pictures and look at my family and daughter, stuff like that, it keeps your mind off it.

“I thought if the lads saw me kicking around a tennis ball, they’d think this fella isn’t clued in but Kenny said you have to do what makes you right. He says he doesn’t like to think about until 15 minutes beforehand, he has a bit of a routine. And I feel I’m a bit of an instinct player and I just like to get out there and play, without thinking too much.

“It’s just relax. Once I’m feeling fit and healthy, and I’m feeling sharp, I’m making my half-breaks or whatever and enjoying rugby, no matter where that is, I’d be willing to put on any jersey for anyone.”

Earls is enjoying his role as part of a new leadership group including this autumn’s captain Jamie Heaslip.

“I’m not as shy as I used to be. I feel confident to speak up that I’m a bit established now and there’s a lot of our senior lads now pushing on a bit, so it’s time for the next wave to come through,” Earls said. “There’s Johnny (Sexton), Jamie, Cian Healy, Conor Murray, we’ve all a few caps under our belt now and it’s time for us to push it on.

“It’s great, you just feel when you’re talking at meetings that fellas are listening to you, it’s a great sense of feeling that hopefully they do respect what I’m saying because if anyone else is speaking, I put the ears up and I listen because there’s nothing better than hearing it coming from the players.

“I still wouldn’t be talking as much as I am in Munster, I’m still finding my bearings up here but I talk a good bit on the pitch anyway movewise and I say something if I have to, I won’t speak just for the sake of it.

“If there’s anything on my mind, I’ll say it.”