SPORT CAN BE funny sometimes. After impressing throughout the World Cup warm-up series and during the last few weeks of the tournament, Keith Earls looked set to miss out entirely on a place in Joe Schmidt’s squad to face France on Sunday.
Jared Payne’s supposed return to fitness, the reliability of Dave Kearney and Tommy Bowe in the air and Luke Fitzgerald’s versatility on the bench seemed to have pushed Earls out of the picture.
Payne’s bruised foot flaring up again during training yesterday, however, has seen Earls reinstated in midfield alongside Robbie Henshaw.
Toulon wrecking ball Mathieu Bastareaud and the wondrously talented Wesley Fofana await Earls on Sunday, but Schmidt has backed the Munster centre to deliver.
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“I think he’s shown that he’s been really strong so far and quite physically strong,” said Schmidt.
“I know he got held up at one stage in the game in the Millennium Stadium [against Wales in August], and I know we’re going back a wee way, but he busted his way through a couple of tackles and it was only (Richard) Hibbard who held on long enough and lay there long enough to stop him reaching out and getting the ball down.
“There’s been a number of other times, certainly physically, in tackles he’s done really well. He got his head down a little bit early in the George North tackle and gave himself a knock.
“We’ve been working really hard on that in training. While he gave himself a knock, he also put North on the ground very, very quickly. He would be a world class player who it is very difficult to do that to.
James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“I think Keith is fit and strong and the moment. He’s confident and he’s playing well. Again, his finish last week was spot-on.
“The ball came back to him and kind of bounced off his chest and he managed to hang onto it. And he’s through there so quickly that it makes him an attacking menace to a degree and that’s what we need.”
Earls and Henshaw have been given the opportunity to build on their midfield partnership after their promising performance against Italy last weekend.
The pair combined superbly for Earls’ try early in the first half. It was a moment of class during a patchy 16-9 victory at the Olympic Stadium.
“I think to be fair to Robbie, he hadn’t played for a long time and I was really happy with what he did. And I felt that Keith linked in with him really well,” said the Ireland head coach.
“For the try, Robbie stepped inside and stayed strong in the tackle. He went forward, he got the offload to Keith; he was in total control of the offload.
“And Keith picked the line. A lot of times you see a guy turn and he’s looking for someone but there’s not someone who’s picked the line.
“For a couple of guys who hadn’t really played together before, they trained together well as well, we just sort of felt that they were a good combination. A good mix of skills.
“Robbie’s size and strength as opposed to Keith’s footwork and acceleration. Those things can complement a midfield partnership to a degree.”
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SPORT CAN BE funny sometimes. After impressing throughout the World Cup warm-up series and during the last few weeks of the tournament, Keith Earls looked set to miss out entirely on a place in Joe Schmidt’s squad to face France on Sunday.
Jared Payne’s supposed return to fitness, the reliability of Dave Kearney and Tommy Bowe in the air and Luke Fitzgerald’s versatility on the bench seemed to have pushed Earls out of the picture.
Payne’s bruised foot flaring up again during training yesterday, however, has seen Earls reinstated in midfield alongside Robbie Henshaw.
Toulon wrecking ball Mathieu Bastareaud and the wondrously talented Wesley Fofana await Earls on Sunday, but Schmidt has backed the Munster centre to deliver.
“I think he’s shown that he’s been really strong so far and quite physically strong,” said Schmidt.
“There’s been a number of other times, certainly physically, in tackles he’s done really well. He got his head down a little bit early in the George North tackle and gave himself a knock.
“We’ve been working really hard on that in training. While he gave himself a knock, he also put North on the ground very, very quickly. He would be a world class player who it is very difficult to do that to.
“I think Keith is fit and strong and the moment. He’s confident and he’s playing well. Again, his finish last week was spot-on.
“The ball came back to him and kind of bounced off his chest and he managed to hang onto it. And he’s through there so quickly that it makes him an attacking menace to a degree and that’s what we need.”
Earls and Henshaw have been given the opportunity to build on their midfield partnership after their promising performance against Italy last weekend.
The pair combined superbly for Earls’ try early in the first half. It was a moment of class during a patchy 16-9 victory at the Olympic Stadium.
“For the try, Robbie stepped inside and stayed strong in the tackle. He went forward, he got the offload to Keith; he was in total control of the offload.
“And Keith picked the line. A lot of times you see a guy turn and he’s looking for someone but there’s not someone who’s picked the line.
“For a couple of guys who hadn’t really played together before, they trained together well as well, we just sort of felt that they were a good combination. A good mix of skills.
“Robbie’s size and strength as opposed to Keith’s footwork and acceleration. Those things can complement a midfield partnership to a degree.”
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