Keith Earls eager to grab opportunity to stake Ireland claim

Keith Earls has more reason than most to feel that opportunity will knock for him in an Irish Wolfhounds jersey tonight, writes Simon Lewis.

Earls is one of 14 Test-capped players on duty for Ireland in the ‘A’ international against the England Saxons at the newly-redeveloped Musgrave Park in Cork.

He will line up at outside centre with fellow 2009 Lions Gordon D’Arcy and Luke Fitzgerald alongside him at inside centre and left wing respectively but of those 14, the 27-year-old Munster back stands apart as the only one not to feature yet in a Joe Schmidt selection.

So having last played Test rugby for Declan Kidney, in what turned out to be his final game as Ireland head coach in March 2013, a finally fit-again Earls is eager to put almost two years of injury problems behind him, the most recent of which required knee surgery last September, and stake a claim to a green jersey for the upcoming Six Nations championship and beyond.

“It’s been tough. It’s been quite frustrating,” Earls said yesterday. “Luke probably had a lot worse injuries than me, but I probably picked up more.

“He had long-term ones, I probably had short-term after short-term with the knee being the longest one.

“This one has been tough. I’m not saying I would have been selected, but watching the November series, watching Munster playing the Champions Cup and stuff like that, it’s been really tough this year, but I’m happy to be back. It’s a full international team. You could play it in any international. That shows the strength in depth we have in the squad at the moment and the competition we have in positions.

Obviously we’ve spoken about it being an opportunity for us and lads are buzzing, hopping around the place and looking forward to it.”

Earls has not been a stranger to the Ireland squad during the Schmidt era, he just hasn’t been able to hang around long enough to get selected. Still, his continuing presence in Ireland squads has meant Earls has never given up hope of adding to his 39 caps.

“It is (encouraging), especially when he hasn’t seen me train much. I’d probably get in and do one session. I think I broke down two times with my knee, and other personal things I had to go home for.

“Joe is quite an intelligent man and an intelligent rugby coach. And when he keeps calling you in it gives you a good feeling.”

Now the moment has arrived, Earls feels he is ready having made two appearances off the Munster bench and started against Sale last weekend, looking pretty sharp in a try-scoring, 44-minute turn.

“I was just worrying about getting through, getting through a session, getting through a game and that’s what I’m worried about at the weekend, getting through a game and seeing if the body holds up. This is going to be a Test-level game. You see the two teams. Hopefully it will hold up well and I can put my hand up for next week.”