Munster embark upon an unusually lengthy as well as defining three weeks of European Cup rugby this weekend. Saturday brings their re-scheduled fixture with Stade Francais in Paris, after which they host the French champions in Limerick a week later, before their final pool game away to Treviso.
As the latter comes on the final Sunday, a double over Stade could leave them handily placed, but that's a maybe. Lose on Saturday, and Munster are out. As Keith Earls conceded, come Saturday, there are no tomorrows.
“We’re not even looking at it as ‘a two weeks’ or ‘a three weeks’. It’s literally this week, because if we don’t win this week, there’s nothing to play for then,” said the Munster, Ireland and Lions winger.
Viewed in that light, Earls described this as a “massive, massive game”, and, for all Munster’s pedigree in Europe over the years, one which this squad is not accustomed to in Earls’ view.
“The pressure is on. It’s a new and big pressure for the squad that we have right now. A couple of years ago Munster would have been used to it, but this is probably for this squad the biggest game of our Munster careers. We’re just purely focusing on getting a win at the weekend and we’ll take it from there then.”
Stade have been very inconsistent in their defence of their French title, but underlined their big-game pedigree with an 18-17 win over Toulouse at home last Sunday, and, against the trend in the Top 14, Earls believes they bring more of a traditional French running game.
“They’re obviously a physical side, like all French teams, but their attacking ability, their counter-attacking ability, they play like a real French team with French flair and their offloading. They’ll be tough team to defend if we go off and try to do things on our own. I suppose trying to stop the continuity of their game is the main thing. They’ve got a lot of big personalities and a lot of experienced fellas, and it’s going to be a tough one but one we’re looking forward to.”
Training regime
Earls's own form this season has been impressive. Benefitting from a new training regime more suited to a body which has been plagued by injuries, he has carried on where he left off in the World Cup – where he was the only Irish back to start all five matches and broke Brian O'Driscoll's Irish World Cup try-scoring record.
Refreshed and re-charged after being given a week off following the World Cup, at 28, touch wood, physically he is in a good place.
“I came back last year in January and I am going nearly a full year, which is great. I suppose I have gotten to know my body. With the knee, it kept breaking down. If I have an issue now, I will say it to the coaches, ‘look, I need to sort this out, I don’t want to be training half injured.’ Thankfully, I haven’t even had to do that, so I have complete faith in my body now.”
While, unusually, there have been no tries for Munster yet this season, Earls has looked sharp. Although on the wing, no less than his contemporary and kindred spirit Luke Fitzgerald, Earls showed some blinding footwork in the midfield logjam during the Munster-Leinster derby over Christmas.
Alas, the second of those breaks and the subsequent offload led to him experiencing the most frightening moments of his career, when he heard a crack in his neck after his head collided with Eoin Reddan’s leg and lay motionless, to a hushed Thomond Park backdrop.
“It wasn’t too serious thankfully. Whatever way I landed I think I hit Redser’s shin and I heard a crack in my neck and thought about my kids straight away. I said ‘I better lay still here’.
Panic attack
“The lads got out to me then and went through a few bits and I could move my hands. I didn’t have any weird feelings, just a small bit of tightness in my chest but I think that was more like a panic attack after hearing the crack in my neck.
“Thankfully everything was fine. I told them I was fine and could I get up but they said, no, once you’ve heard a crack we’re not going to let you get up. I went out and got x-rays and I literally was showering with some of the lads then [after the game].”
He admits it was the most frightening experience of his career. “It was scary hearing the crack. As I said, I just thought of my family straight away. My father, if he had hair he would have lost it. I could see when he came down to see me he was devastated. I gave them all a bit of a fright but thankfully it was all good.”
As he was being stretchered off, Earls managed a re-assuring wave to the crowd, and not least to his long-time girlfriend Edel, who was watching on television.
“My fiancé wasn’t at the game. One of the kids was at home sick with a chest infection, so it was just to let them know I was okay.”
The ensuing cheer from all corners of the ground was also a highlight. “I think it was great, from both sets of supporters – the Munster and Leinster rivalry and everything – but it was great the way they came together. Thankfully it wasn’t a serious incident.”
