Elder lemon Keith Earls spares the tough love with young guns

Keith Earls has no problem being the elder lemon on this Irish tour to the USA and Japan but reckons the young kids coming through are adapting more quickly to the demands of professional and international rugby.

Earls, who will be 30 in October, is the second most capped player on this tour with 59 appearances — Cian Healy has 67 — and believes that the emerging players can get great experience over the next three weeks.

With 11 away on Lions duty and a handful more out through injury — out-half Paddy Jackson is also unavailable for this clash on Saturday for ‘personal reasons’ — it’s an opportunity for Joe Schmidt to experiment.