Keith Earls on Munster's back three competition: ‘It’s professional rugby, you take it on the chin’

Keith Earls has understood for a while that becoming a family man has helped to relegate rugby down the pecking order of priorities. 

It has been the key to allowing the father of two to play the best rugby of his career on the wing for Munster and Ireland and now it will help him step back into the fray after a near two-month injury lay-off confident he can return quickly to the peak of his powers.

Earls is set to get his comeback in the St Stephen’s Day derby with Guinness PRO14 rivals Leinster at Thomond Park, his first bit of gametime since pulling up with a hamstring injury during the first week of Ireland camp at the beginning of November.