AFTER A SEASON that lasted from 27 June 2015 until 25 June 2016, Keith Earls enjoyed his month away from rugby.
He’s back in pre-season under Rassie Erasmus at Munster now but the Limerick man took advantage of the opportunity to refresh himself physically and mentally before another huge campaign in 2016/17.
Young Munster man Earls launched the #MunsterRising socks initiative. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Earls was married to long-time partner Edel at the beginning of July, enjoying a rare big night of celebration afterwards.
“My wedding was July 1st,” says Earls. “Before that, the end of season with the lads. I’d say maybe four times a year max, I’d have a couple of drinks. You might have a glass of wine while out for dinner, but it’s not much.”
Enjoying newly-married life and holidays with his kids, Earls admits “the diet probably loosened up a bit” as he indulged in his vices of chocolate and pizza. But pre-season is never completely out of mind and the wing says players don’t get away with much in professional rugby.
“You’re just trying to get the best out of yourself. We’re monitored now with DEXA scans – it shows how much fat you’ve put on, how much lean muscle, and I suppose you’re looking at a fella’s lifestyle as well.
“If he’s not in good condition you have to look at his habits, and the habits he’d bring on to the field probably wouldn’t be so good either.”
Earls says the quality of his food intake has been vastly improved in recent seasons, having sat down with Munster’s performance nutritionist, Catherine Norton, and come to a better understanding of what works best for his body.
The 28-year-old had a delightfully injury-free run last season after a torrid time in recent years and puts it down to that deeper appreciation of how he functions best physically.
“It took me up to last year,” says Earls. “I’ve been in and around here since I was 19, but it took me up to last year to find my ideal weight, find what food agrees with me.
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Earls had a largely injury-free 2015/16 season. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
“[I was] constantly trying to be 95kg, but my natural weight now is 86 to 88kg. I think that’s why I kept breaking down, trying to put on weight. I was too heavy and my body wasn’t able to carry it.”
The slimmed-down Earls seems to have shaken the worst of the injury travails that previously plagued his career. His hope is that there are many more years of professional rugby ahead of him.
“Hopefully being on the wing, I might get a couple more years. Ideally I’d like to play until I’m 35; we’ll see how the body feels. I’ve at least another three years anyhow, please God.”
Earls was previously seen as belonging in the same bracket as Luke Fitzgerald – a hugely talented Irish back plagued by injuries. However, the Munster man is fit and healthy right now, while Fitzgerald was cruelly forced to retire from the sport.
“Luke was one of these fellas who’d play through injuries, a lot of players do it,” says Earls. “His injury was fairly bad, in the neck it’s a delicate part of the body too, but he just wanted to carry on. His neck gave in.
“He had a lot of knee injuries as well, he put his body on the line every time and he’s a massive loss for Leinster and Irish rugby; one of the best talents the country’s ever seen.”
Fitzgerald is a reminder to all professionals that they must enjoy the experience while it lasts, something Earls is keen to do again this season.
He’s excited about working under Rassie Erasmus, Jacques Nienaber and Anthony Foley as Munster look to rebound from a 2015/16 campaign that Earls says was mentally tough.
“It’s obviously going to be different, there’s been a lot of meetings, Rassie and Jacques getting their detail and how we want to play, and how they want us to defend. I’m looking forward to it.
Earls was part of Ireland's series defeat in South Africa. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
“Myself and Conor [Murray] met [Erasmus] by accident in South Africa in the team hotel, had a chat with him. It was an exciting chat and I’m really looking forward to working with him.
“It was brief, but it’s exciting and having Axel there as well – a coach we know really well – it seems to be working really well, the three of them.”
In terms of Test rugby, Ireland’s pair of clashes with the All Blacks in November loom large already.
Joe Schmidt’s men have two further shots at creating history, after their most recent tilt at the Kiwis ended with a heartbreaking defeat.
“With Joe a lot of lads have won Six Nations back-to-back, winning in South Africa, coming so close to beating New Zealand in 2013 – it would be something nice to tick off to say you’ve done it, for the country and for all the players that played in the past as well.”
Back in Munster, there’s a clash with the New Zealand Māori to look forward to in November. Earls is likely to be watching the game, rather than playing, but he hopes to see a similar occasion to when New Zealand visited in 2008.
“I was sitting in the stand watching it, it was the loudest… I couldn’t hear the boys doing the haka, the crowd were just unreal. It was a lovely touch, a great sporting moment and then the boys coming so close. Hopefully we can get a win over them.
“Hopefully there might be the [Munster] haka again. With Frankie [Saili] and Tyler [Bleyendaal], there’s a few New Zealand boys playing.”
Munster Rugby, adidas and exclusive retail partner Life Style Sports have launched the #MunsterRising socks initiative, which will see the squad tog out in socks that will represent a selection of local school and club colours for their epic showdown against Maori All Blacks in Thomond Park on November 11th.
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'That's why I kept breaking down, trying to put on weight' - Earls
AFTER A SEASON that lasted from 27 June 2015 until 25 June 2016, Keith Earls enjoyed his month away from rugby.
He’s back in pre-season under Rassie Erasmus at Munster now but the Limerick man took advantage of the opportunity to refresh himself physically and mentally before another huge campaign in 2016/17.
Earls was married to long-time partner Edel at the beginning of July, enjoying a rare big night of celebration afterwards.
“My wedding was July 1st,” says Earls. “Before that, the end of season with the lads. I’d say maybe four times a year max, I’d have a couple of drinks. You might have a glass of wine while out for dinner, but it’s not much.”
Enjoying newly-married life and holidays with his kids, Earls admits “the diet probably loosened up a bit” as he indulged in his vices of chocolate and pizza. But pre-season is never completely out of mind and the wing says players don’t get away with much in professional rugby.
“You’re just trying to get the best out of yourself. We’re monitored now with DEXA scans – it shows how much fat you’ve put on, how much lean muscle, and I suppose you’re looking at a fella’s lifestyle as well.
“If he’s not in good condition you have to look at his habits, and the habits he’d bring on to the field probably wouldn’t be so good either.”
Earls says the quality of his food intake has been vastly improved in recent seasons, having sat down with Munster’s performance nutritionist, Catherine Norton, and come to a better understanding of what works best for his body.
The 28-year-old had a delightfully injury-free run last season after a torrid time in recent years and puts it down to that deeper appreciation of how he functions best physically.
“It took me up to last year,” says Earls. “I’ve been in and around here since I was 19, but it took me up to last year to find my ideal weight, find what food agrees with me.
“[I was] constantly trying to be 95kg, but my natural weight now is 86 to 88kg. I think that’s why I kept breaking down, trying to put on weight. I was too heavy and my body wasn’t able to carry it.”
The slimmed-down Earls seems to have shaken the worst of the injury travails that previously plagued his career. His hope is that there are many more years of professional rugby ahead of him.
“Hopefully being on the wing, I might get a couple more years. Ideally I’d like to play until I’m 35; we’ll see how the body feels. I’ve at least another three years anyhow, please God.”
Earls was previously seen as belonging in the same bracket as Luke Fitzgerald – a hugely talented Irish back plagued by injuries. However, the Munster man is fit and healthy right now, while Fitzgerald was cruelly forced to retire from the sport.
“Luke was one of these fellas who’d play through injuries, a lot of players do it,” says Earls. “His injury was fairly bad, in the neck it’s a delicate part of the body too, but he just wanted to carry on. His neck gave in.
“He had a lot of knee injuries as well, he put his body on the line every time and he’s a massive loss for Leinster and Irish rugby; one of the best talents the country’s ever seen.”
Fitzgerald is a reminder to all professionals that they must enjoy the experience while it lasts, something Earls is keen to do again this season.
He’s excited about working under Rassie Erasmus, Jacques Nienaber and Anthony Foley as Munster look to rebound from a 2015/16 campaign that Earls says was mentally tough.
“It’s obviously going to be different, there’s been a lot of meetings, Rassie and Jacques getting their detail and how we want to play, and how they want us to defend. I’m looking forward to it.
“Myself and Conor [Murray] met [Erasmus] by accident in South Africa in the team hotel, had a chat with him. It was an exciting chat and I’m really looking forward to working with him.
“It was brief, but it’s exciting and having Axel there as well – a coach we know really well – it seems to be working really well, the three of them.”
In terms of Test rugby, Ireland’s pair of clashes with the All Blacks in November loom large already.
Joe Schmidt’s men have two further shots at creating history, after their most recent tilt at the Kiwis ended with a heartbreaking defeat.
“With Joe a lot of lads have won Six Nations back-to-back, winning in South Africa, coming so close to beating New Zealand in 2013 – it would be something nice to tick off to say you’ve done it, for the country and for all the players that played in the past as well.”
Back in Munster, there’s a clash with the New Zealand Māori to look forward to in November. Earls is likely to be watching the game, rather than playing, but he hopes to see a similar occasion to when New Zealand visited in 2008.
“I was sitting in the stand watching it, it was the loudest… I couldn’t hear the boys doing the haka, the crowd were just unreal. It was a lovely touch, a great sporting moment and then the boys coming so close. Hopefully we can get a win over them.
“Hopefully there might be the [Munster] haka again. With Frankie [Saili] and Tyler [Bleyendaal], there’s a few New Zealand boys playing.”
Munster Rugby, adidas and exclusive retail partner Life Style Sports have launched the #MunsterRising socks initiative, which will see the squad tog out in socks that will represent a selection of local school and club colours for their epic showdown against Maori All Blacks in Thomond Park on November 11th.
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Fit and Firing Ireland Keith Earls Munster Rassie Erasmus