Revitalised Earls honours legacy of iconic father
Twenty five years on from Ger Earls’ hour of glory, son Keith is adding to the family’s rich rugby legacy
TWO breath-taking Lansdowne Road sprints at opposite ends of the ground. Two grand memories that will last a lifetime in the Earls households. It was February 1993 when dad Ger snapped up an interception in his own half to gallop to the line and help Young Munster secure All-Ireland League glory at the expense of St Mary’s College.
Twenty-five years later, it was son Keith who left a February crowd at Irish rugby HQ in raptures off another intercept.
This time it was action on the opposite side of the ball, the Ireland winger doing his best Usain Bolt impersonation to successfully chase Italy’s Mattia Bellini, who had raced clear after picking off a Joey Carbery pass.
His hunt to deny the Azzurri a four-try bonus was cited by many as their favourite incident eight days ago, a classy piece of play repeated over and over on video.
However, he wasn’t the only Earls name up in lights this past week, his dad’s moment of glory doing the rounds on YouTube to celebrate its anniversary milestone.
‘I’m sure it feels like yesterday to him. I was only about five at the time. I was at home that weekend. I remember him coming back with the cup as he arrived down on the bus,’ said the Limerick man, in a clubhouse room on Thursday in Athlone, the midlands town where Munsters clinched promotion to Division 1 to lay foundations for his dad’s Dublin triumph.
‘It’s amazing there are so many things you forget and how long they have been. It all happens in a flash.’
Even now, Earls Senior is rated as arguably the best player never capped by his country.
Just as well his rejuvenated 30year-old offspring is enjoying the form of his life.
It’s 10 years ago this November when Earls was first in green, but his journey from that try-scoring 2008 debut against Canada to becoming an integral part of Joe Schmidt’s side is a lesson in never giving up despite repeated setbacks.
Twenty-nine months he waited in between cap 38 and 39, injuries the bane of his career. But having started in 25 of Ireland’s last 34 matches, the electric player everyone felt Earls always had the potential to become is now strutting his stuff.
Three steps were central to operation transformation: fitness, aerial agility and mental steel.
GPS had him covering 9.7 metres per second when hunting down Bellini. Not bad for the 79th minute. Not a million miles away either from the 10.5 metres per second personal best at Castres in October.
Getting weight down to just shy of 86kgs helped. ‘It was just what I felt comfortable with during one pre- season. I felt a lot fitter, so I held it.
‘I’m definitely feeling faster. I’m lighter so I can move a bit better. I couldn’t get around the park when I was heavier. Feeling good and light, I’ve an 80-minute plus engine in me now.’
It’s quite a different rationale in a sport where so much emphasis was placed on getting bigger. ‘Rugby is chopping and changing. It was all about getting big. Then all about being small and quick. Then it went to big and quick. I do regret it’s after taking me 10 years, but I look at it as being an underdog now because most fellas are bigger than me, which I enjoy.’
He feels fortunate to be still around to enjoy the benefits of maturity, but it’s not just speed where he has excelled. Ability to reach for the skies is another replenished string to his bow, the winger taking pride in his 64cm training ground standing jump mark.
‘I had to jump a lot of walls to get over to my wife when younger, so I’d put it down to that,’ he jested, making light of the athleticism Schmidt has taken a Test-level shine to. ‘Jumping walls in Thomond Park and running away from security guards. The lads were saying, “Put Garda sirens behind me and I run quicker”.’
His reach is instinctive having only ever played a small bit of Gaelic football at St Nessan’s and Corpus Christi schools. ‘A lot of those balls can be 50-50 and I feel when I’m running at a high speed, it’s hard to get a proper clean run at the ball — at high speed, your eyes are moving. It’s at the last second whether your hands are high or lower.
‘Andrew Conway and Darren Sweetnam have put a lot of pressure on in Munster to get better at it. “Masters of the Air” they call each other. It’s a massive part of a winger’s game. It’s not kicking the ball away to relieve pressure, it’s to put more pressure on.
‘In my head, it’s just me and the ball. You can’t really think that (there is a collision coming). That can put you off, so we go with the saying: “It’s just us and the ball. Concentrate on the ball, don’t worry about anything else”. Going up into a collision and winning one is a good feeling.’
As for steeling the mind, he rid himself of his father’s OCD-like tendencies and finally overcame the 2009 Lions tour that harmed his confidence for years.
‘I grew up with a superstitious father, watching his habits. He used to bless himself 300 times a day. It caught on, but I’ve left that go… I grew out of it. Some people see it [superstition] as a weakness because if you’re thinking you don’t have your favourite jocks or rosary beads, you’re going to play bad. But it’s just how you prepare.
‘You go through phases as the years go on. Listening to relaxing music, listening to rave, watching
‘I HAD TO JUMP A LOT OF WALLS TO GET OVER TO MY WIFE’