'It was 100% my fault' - Ireland star ready to bounce back from England error
Ireland wing Kieth Earls isn’t making any injury excuses for himself in the wake of his side’s 32-20 defeat to England in their Six Nations opener in Dublin last weekend.
Earls was forced off the park at half-time after he was bombarded with English high balls throughout the first half, leaving him with a hip pointer injury.
The 73-Test veteran sustained the injury in the very first play of the match after being hammered into by English lock Maro Itoje while fielding Owen Farrell’s towering kick-off.
“Everything kind of shut down around my hip and it was sore to run because it swelled out,” he said. “They usually loosen out but it didn’t.
“I suppose it was the first time I stayed on injured and tried to run it off because I’m usually quite good at knowing my body and when to come off, so from that aspect I probably should have come off earlier.
“Half-time was probably the worst thing to happen because you’re sitting down for 10 or 15 minutes and it just got a bit sore. I went to do a run indoors just to test it and it was too sore so the physio and doctor called it.”
Earls was again a victim of an Itoje tackle in the 18th minute, with the second rower illegally taking the Irishman out as the pair contested a high ball. Many believed it to be a yellow card-worthy offence, but not Earls.
“No, no, it was a collision,” said the 31-year-old. “I don’t know what he thought of it, whether he got his timing wrong or whatever. I had a look back at it and it does look bad but that’s not for me to say.”
Itoje’s collision came just five minutes after Earls was taken out late by openside flanker Tom Curry, the 20-year-old who was sent to the sin bin.
While justice was served for Curry’s tackle, both hits only aggravated Earls’ hip injury, but the wing has refused to use that as an excuse for letting in Jonny May’s opening try inside the first 90 seconds.
“It was obviously 100 per cent my fault,” he said. “I got my numbers wrong on the edge. I didn’t see [Elliot] Daly out there, I thought it was May.
“I was going to go for the intercept but obviously Farrell’s pass is one of the best in the game and it beat me.
“I should definitely have just tucked if I had taken a look up. I should have tucked in with Conor [Murray].”
A double skip pass from Farrell was enough to evade the defensive threats posed by Murray and Earls, and the latter said he regrets his decision to rush out of line.
“I went off on my own rather than just taking a feel for the game. If I got the intercept it would have been a different story but I made a mistake.”
Earls has a chance to redeem himself this weekend, when Ireland travel to Edinburgh to face Scotland at Murrayfield.
He trained fully with the side yesterday, and looks set to be fit for what is set to be a mammoth tussle between the two Celtic nations.
An improvement on his decision-making will be a key factor in determining Ireland’s success in this weekend’s upcoming match, Earls said.
“It’s become massive now as wingers. We’re trying to read body language, we’re trying to close hard, trying to stay back, it’s just all becoming a feel.
“It’s not black and white anymore that I’m going to stay back, I’m a winger. We play high as a team so I’m going to stay up.
“We’re just getting a feel, about who’s inside us and a lot is put on us but it puts us under pressure to make good decisions.
“A lot of the time we make good decisions and we can shut down a team but I didn’t make a good decision at the weekend and it can go completely against you.”
Joe Schmidt post-match press conference:
Comments on RugbyPass
Pick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
15 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
15 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
15 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
15 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
15 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
15 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
15 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to comments