Ireland legend almost retired before Andy Farrell moved to ‘stop him’
Keith Earls makes his 100 appearance for Ireland.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell has revealed that he moved to persuade Keith Earls not to retire ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
The Munster veteran is now set to feature in his fourth Rugby World Cup after notching up his 100th Test cap for his country.
Earls urged to play on
Earls was named in Ireland’s 33-man squad for the global showpiece on Sunday, pipping Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale to a place in the team.
The 35-year-old came off the bench in Ireland’s penultimate Rugby World Cup warm-up match and scored his 36th Test try in his 100th appearance as the hosts defeated England 29-10 in Dublin.
Earls was close to calling time on his professional rugby career in 2021, revealing in his autobiography that in 2020 he almost hung up his boots amid breathing difficulties caused by restricted lung capacity.
The winger considered doing the same last year before Farrell moved to persuade Earls.
“I had a conversation 18 months ago to try to stop him from retiring,” said Farrell.
“He’s certainly come through the other side.
“He’s been outstanding over the last nine weeks as regards giving to the squad his whole self, his experience, but at the same time being as fit and excited as I’ve ever seen him.”
His selection is a big show of faith and a testament to the player he is, as Earls went more than a year without international rugby amid injury problems before lining up against Italy at the start of the month.
There was concern whether Earls would be fit for the World Cup after he missed Ireland’s final warm-up game against Samoa, which they won 17-13, but Farrell confirmed that it was just a ‘niggle’ that sidelined him.
Devasted Cian Healy
Meanwhile, Cian Healy was the notable absentee from Farrell’s squad after he hobbled off the pitch in the clash against Samoa.
“He’s just had a scan as we got off the plane, and he’ll be out for a spell of time that won’t be right, unfortunately, for Cian and for us, certainly for the start of the competition,” said Farrell, speaking in Dublin after naming his final 33.
“We’ll see how his rehab goes during it; you’d never know towards the back end if he could be a replacement or not.
“It’s devastating, isn’t it? That’s sport, that’s life, that’s rugby. Cian’s big enough and, old enough and experienced enough to be through these type of things before.
“I remember in 2013 on the Lions (tour), he got injured early and had to fly home. He’s experienced something like this and understands that these things happen. He’s devastated as we are for him.
“The prognosis is something between five, six to 10 weeks. How that rehab carries on is something that we’ll keep a track of as we go.”