D Monday, November 23, 2009 METROSPORT 21 www.menexpert.co.uk A Proud Sponsor of Irish Rugby rugby internationals Earls eager to lay claim to wing spotBy john donnellyKeith earls is eager to keep his place in irelands line-up for the clash with south africa at Croke Park on sat- urday following a two-try performance in the 41-6 victory over Fiji. Predictably, the 22-year-old Munster player is taking nothing for granted but everything suggests that earls, a member of the British and irish lions squad that toured south africa last summer, will continue to feature on the irish left wing. he said: i would love to get an oppor- tunity against the best team in the world. the lions tour was disappointing in the end, losing two tests, but we know they are there to be beaten. France defeated them last week, so it should be a good challenge. We just have to relax as we did against Fiji, take it as it comes. its going to be good. Now that luke Fitzgerald has been ruled out for the season, irish coach De- clan Kidney must be delighted with the way earls has settled in his place. his two efforts against Fiji were beau- tifully taken, bringing his try tally to an impressive three in just four outings for ireland.Yet the versatile Munster man is not currently playing in his preferred po- sition. he said: im just happy to be in the starting XV, but i dont want to be known as a utility back. My preference is for outside centre or full-back. all i can do is to perform as well as i can, irrespective of what position im asked to play. he certainly did so against Fiji, taking a pass from scrum-half eoin reddan to cross under the posts for the first try. he was then at the end of a flowing move to go over for his second after the interval. Nevertheless, there was only one real contender for the man-of-the-match award and that was Jonathan sexton. the leinster man marked a wonderful debut by contributing 16 points, landing seven out of seven kicks in dreadful con- ditions. earls was impressed, saying: that was an outstanding performance, im delighted for him. he has waited a long time for his chance. i think he was a slight bit nervous. he didnt get to sleep until three oclock in the morning and ended up getting a sleeping tablet, but it didnt bother him. he was spot-on, it was a perfect per- formance. he attacked like a full-back as well, hes also a good running threat. young guns: earls celebrates his first try against Fiji with ireland debutant jonathan sexton (10) Picture: Sportsfile RFU backing for boss Johnson MARTIN JohNsoN was yesterday backed by his English RFU bosses to continue leading England into the 2011 World Cup after saturdays much-improved display against New Zealand at Twickenham. The All Blacks did enough to repel a spirited effort from Johnsons under-fire side to secure a 19-6 win, leaving England with just one win from their three-Test autumn campaign. But RFU chairman Martyn Thomas insists the 2003 World Cup-winning captain is still the man to take the team forward. Ive got every confidence in Martin, Thomas said. The guy is an outstanding character. Chris PatersoN says scotland will not get carried away by their incredible victory against australia. Patersons late drop goal put scotland 9-3 ahead before Matt Giteau missed a conversion with the last kick of the game at Murrayfield. the 9-8 victory was a first against the Wallabies for 27 years, sparking scenes of jubilation usually reserved for Calcutta Cup triumphs. a thrilled Paterson said: one strike of the ball. that almost puts a wee bit of reality on it. With argentina up next this weekend, Paterson added: our performance can be far better, cant it? the players will keep their feet on the ground. Paterson calls for calm Scots index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html