Powerade Hero of the Day: Keith Earls

Today’s Powerade Hero of the Day is Keith Earls, a man who was back to his scintillating best against Russia in Rotorua.

By Conor Heneghan

They say that versatility can be a blessing as well as a curse and Keith Earls could certainly empathise with that cliché.

So comfortable is he across almost every position in the backline that he has been used as a, well, round peg to fill a round hole for both Ireland and Munster on a number of occasions, but in the process, it has denied him the chance to cement a permanent position for himself in both sides.

The problem with Earls is that although he seems to be aware of his best position, he’s done well in so many areas that it is hard for even the most astute observers to decide what suits him and the team best.

Take today against Russia, for example. His first try was classic wing play. Given an admittedly forward pass from Andrew Trimble, space was at a premium on the wing for Earls, yet he put the foot down and produced an expert finish, keeping his legs well inside the touchline in the process.

Declan Kidney seems to have identified him as Brian O’Driscoll’s long-term successor in the Irish number 13 jersey and you get the sense that it is what Earls has his eye on.

In the second half, he showed an awareness of space in midfield, identified a mismatch with a Russian back-row forward, pulled off a neat sidestep and was under the posts before you knew it. Yet in the Six Nations, he had performed well on the wing before being thrown in at full-back for Luke Fitzgerald against England and flourished once more.

Declan Kidney seems to have identified him as Brian O’Driscoll’s long-term successor in the Irish number 13 jersey and you get the sense that it is what Earls has his eye on. Without actually saying definitively that it was where he saw his as his ideal position in the future, he gave a big hint in that direction in an interview with this website earlier in the summer.

“A lot of people have asked me that question (his best position) and have said I played better when I was on the wing, but I’m telling them I wasn’t fit when I was playing in the centre for Munster earlier in the season," he said.

“When I came into the Six Nations, I was eating proper food and I got my diet right, lost a shitload of weight and started getting my confidence back. Playing on the wing for Ireland, Deccie has given me a bit of a free role to go wherever I want and to get in and around the centre close to Johnny or Rog, whichever of them is playing, and run off them.”

Although today could hardly be described as an adequate audition to showcase his claims for the position on a permanent basis, he certainly didn’t do himself any harm with an impressive performance.

To be honest, we were just glad that a man that seemed to be patently lacking in confidence in August was back to his old self once again.