‘I LOCK MEDALS AWAY TO FOCUS ON NEW GOALS’

KEITH Earls says he has locked away all the medals and trophies he has won as it allows him to focus on the targets he wants to face for the new season.

The 30-year old, coming off a superb season for both Munster and Ireland, is poised to return to action after the summer break this weekend when Munster travel to Cardiff Blues on Friday.

One of the few links with the 2009 Grand Slam, Earls had to watch injured from the sidelines as the Six Nations crowns were annexed in 2014 and 2015.

But having battled back from injury, he played a key role in the Grand Slam success earlier this year, with his performances for his province seeing him collect the Player of the Season award on top of a pile of individual gongs.

And while Earls, below, admitted he might occasionally glance at the Grand Slam medal, all the other trophies are out of sight as he prepares for another season for province and country.

He said: “The trophies and the medals are locked away. I don’t even keep them out to look at them.

“I put them away and maybe look at them when I retire, I keep my focus now on getting better.

“I enjoyed last year but once I got to the beach it was about being a father and about relaxing and living a normal life.

“I have set my goals out for this year, but I won’t be pondering about that season.

“Some fellas do it differently, some fellas like looking at them, but it does not really bother me although the Grand Slam medal I will take that out and look at it, the individual ones, no.

“I always moved on. My thing is team medals and that is what I enjoy the most. The celebrations after winning something is, what I prefer, and then put away all the individual ones until I’m done.”

The successful tour to Australia has also been put to bed and the countdown to the World Cup, the November internationals and the defence of the Grand

Slam, can all wait as for now, Munster is Earls’ top priority.

And he’s happy with what he has seen so far and the new faces who have come on board.

He added: “I think it is great for the squad in general. We have depth everywhere now which is great. I think that is where we probably struggled in the last couple of years.

“Look, once I’m fit and back I’ll give the lads on the wings a run for their money.

“You see the depth Leinster have and looking at the national side as well, the depth we have in fellas who are coming in.

“You could lose two or three players in Leinster and another fella will come in who’s just as good.”