Earls ready to take flight

Lions cub Keith Earls will hit a career high at the tender age of 21 when he takes to the field as the tourists’ outside centre against the Royal XV at Rustenberg on Saturday. “Not in a million years” did he envisage being part of Ian McGeechan’s squad in South Africa but after a stellar season he is now where many players wait a career to get to, if at all.

His fellow squad members clearly hold him in high regard but the youngest player on the panel knows his place, having been given the task of taking care of the squad’s lion mascot.

“I think the lion is sleeping at the moment,” said Earls, after briefly abandoning it to attend press conference duties. “I have to bring it to training and a couple of functions, and with me being the youngest player at the moment, I’ll have to carry it around.

“But I think Leigh Halfpenny is out here next week, so the lion will be handed over when he arrives.”

Earls, whose father Ger played in the Munster side that beat Australia 17 years ago, was regarded as a Lions wild card when McGeechan unveiled his squad last month.

He has the ability though, to make a major impression through his searing pace and prolific try-scoring ability.

“This is my first professional season, and I was just hoping to get a few starts with Munster,” added Earls, who made his Ireland debut against Canada last November, scoring a try with his first touch.

“But a couple of games went well in the Magners League, and then I got a few Heineken Cup starts, but not in a million years did I think I would be on a Lions tour.”

Earls, a Munster Schools Senior Cup winner just three years ago, embarks on a first Lions trip having yet to establish his number one playing position.

The Lions have named him at outside centre, while full-back and wing also feature on his impressive CV, but Earls is adamant he does not want to spend his career plugging holes.

“I am still learning a lot, and I haven’t really nailed down a position,” he added. “I don’t really want to be known as a utility back, I want to be maybe a 13 or a 15, and that’s it.”

It will be a special day for Earls this weekend, especially with the Lions being captained by his Munster colleague Paul O’Connell, who played club rugby with his dad, and he has proved an inspiration to the young back.

“I’ve known Paul since I was seven or eight,” he said. “I have great respect for him — he’s a man I would do anything for on the pitch and off the pitch.

“Everyone has a player they look up to and they first admire. Paul would probably be the first professional rugby player I got to know growing up.

“The way he acts on and off the pitch is just brilliant. He doesn’t let anything go to his head. He keeps his feet on the ground.”

O’Connell is quick to return the compliment — even if he is in no mood for leniency when it comes to cuddly toy duties.

“Keith is a very laid-back kind of guy,” said the Lions skipper. “He is quiet, unassuming, very modest and eager to learn.

“He has something special. He has great pace, he is very elusive with a great step and feint. He is all you would want.”

But what about the mascot?

“There are all sorts of fines if he loses it,” added O’Connell.

“So he is dying for Leigh Halfpenny (nearly 15 months’ Earl’s junior) to get his rehab right and get out here as soon as possible so he can hand the lion over to him.”