Earls Set For Springbok Showdown

Hoping to finish the season on a high with a Series win over southern hemisphere giants South Africa, we catch up with Munster and Ireland winger Keith Earls who, alongside Andrew Trimble, is the joint leading try scorer of the travelling squad.

While the Munster flyer’s Connacht, Leinster and Ulster counterparts enter the final hurrah of the season having had varying degrees of involvement in the PRO12 play-offs, Earls maintains that he and his fellow Munstermen enter this Tour just as readied, utilising game free weekends to focus on conditioning in anticipation of summer involvement with Ireland.
 
“There wasn’t much rest in Munster, we had a mini preseason where we trained hard and that was good, especially for a number of lads who were in contention for the Summer Tour and needed to keep the fitness.
 
“Obviously from a match perspective, having some weekends off was very disappointing because as Munster players we want to be in semi-finals and finals, but look, that was not to be this year and we’ll forget about it now and concentrate on the upcoming tour.”
 
Ireland will play three tests against the Springboks across a three week period, the first of which takes place in Cape Town next Saturday at 4pm (Irish).  However with a win/loss ratio that favours the hosts 15/5, Earls knows the ‘massive challenge’ that lies in store in a country that he tours for the first time.
 
“It’s going to be massive.  It’s a really hostile place where they love their rugby and I think more than anything else it will be massively physical.  They are all big men and they have a number of young players coming through and this will be hugely exciting for them.  It’s a massive challenge, one we’re not taking lightly, yet relishing at the same time.”
 
50 caps into his international career, the excitement is still palpable for the 28-year-old each time he wears the green jersey.
 
“A lot of lads who want to play rugby want to, and dream of, playing for Ireland and their provinces.  But getting to play for your country and standing should to shoulder with lads during the anthems is something I’m massively proud of.”