Munster stalwart has overcome significant adversity to become just the ninth Irishman to reach 100 Test caps for his country
Pending the result, selecting Earls in the ‘23′ for this game ticks plenty of boxes, with the potential to tick more.
“Everything he says is always on the money,” says one team-mate. He doesn’t talk for the sake of it. His words are listened to, all of which has made him one of the group’s leaders, spiritually as much as vocally. Keith Earls is congratulated by Brian O'Driscoll after scoring a try during his Test debut against Canada at Thomond Park in 2008. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho
Reading about the mental and physical traumas that he had to deal with for much of his career, the wonder is he played 200 times for Munster and now 100 times for Ireland. Fitzgerald was unlucky that injuries forced him to retire at the age of 28, but Earls is, seven years on, and still going strong. He overcame a nerve-ridden Lions debut against the South African Royal XV to play in four more midweek games, scoring tries against the Free State Cheetahs and a cracking solo effort when beating three players against the Emerging Springboks.
Van Graan asked him to reconsider, saying he wanted Earls to be one of the senior guiding lights among a new wave of talented younger players, and a visit to his home by Stephen Larkham and a lengthy chat also dissuaded him from retiring.
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