Keith Earls in 5 years time?

up them Schteps

How do people think Keith will develop in years to come? He is such a raw talent that i'm wondering will he reach (Dare I jynx it..) BOD's level? I have a feeling Munster and Ireland don't know what position to allow him to develop in. Wing or center. The problem I suppose is that he will won't get a chance to play center at international level till BOD quits......

anonymous_joe

up them Schteps wrote: »

How do people think Keith will develop in years to come? He is such a raw talent that i'm wondering will he reach (Dare I jynx it..) BOD's level? I have a feeling Munster and Ireland don't know what position to allow him to develop in. Wing or center. The problem I suppose is that he will won't get a chance to play center at international level till BOD quits......

He could break his leg tomorrow and never be the same player afterwards.

Rugby's a bit like that.

If I'm honest, he doesn't look like he'll ever be as good a defender as O'Driscoll. He's not as powerful (O'Driscoll's stockier than him for one thing) so even with experience won't have quite the same impact.

He looks like a great attacking full back, but conversely a poor defensive one. I'd reckon he's going to be a very good 13.

Stev_o

It's a tough one really. Think people want him to be developed into a world class centre but he's always excelled in the back 3. Now whether he'll spend the next few or so years out in the back 3 and then move up once he becomes more wiser is certainly a option. At the moment he's the best broken field runner we have id have absolutely no problem seeing him on the wing for Ireland to see what he is capable of.

up them Schteps

anonymous_joe wrote: »

He could break his leg tomorrow and never be the same player afterwards.

Rugby's a bit like that.

If I'm honest, he doesn't look like he'll ever be as good a defender as O'Driscoll. He's not as powerful (O'Driscoll's stockier than him for one thing) so even with experience won't have quite the same impact.

He looks like a great attacking full back, but conversely a poor defensive one. I'd reckon he's going to be a very good 13.

Yeah I definatly agree about his size, but BOD was pretty average when he first came on the scene too, Earls is 21 now I think maybe 22, another few years of professional rugby and he should be bulky enough

anonymous_joe

Stev_o wrote: »

It's a tough one really. Think people want him to be developed into a world class centre but he's always excelled in the back 3. Now whether he'll spend the next few or so years out in the back 3 and then move up once he becomes more wiser is certainly a option. At the moment he's the best broken field runner we have id have absolutely no problem seeing him on the wing for Ireland to see what he is capable of.

My worry would be what happens under the high ball. He's not as tall as the likes of Bowe, Kearney or Fitzgerald. Also, to make it onto the wing, he'd have take one of their places...

subfreq

I wonder if they think Bowe is a better cover for BOD at the moment as he is playing very well for his club there. McFadden is also on the way up the ranks and looks a more natural outside center than Earls.

I saw an intervew with Earls where he basically said that his biggest personal worry is that he gets labelled a 'utility' back and wants to nail down a position.

At the moment I think he is most suited to winger but he has great players in front of him.

Transport to 5 years time and I could see.

9 - O'Leary
10 - Sexton / Keatley
11 - Earls
12 - McFadden
13 - Fitzgerald
14 - Bowe
15 - Kearney

Zzippy

As a fan of Irish rugby, I hope to God he fulfils every bit of the potential he has. He's not at the level BOD was at the same age, but I think he has the potential to be every bit as good an attacking player. As someone else mentioned, and I agree, he will never be as good in defence - but than again, BOD is as good as any backrow I've seen in winning ball back, and body shape favours him in that role.
Kearney will be FB for many years. Felix Jones looks like he could grow into that role too. Fitz and Bowe are better wingers, and I think his best position is centre anyway, so I hope he gets the playing time and opportunities in that position.
Oh, and as a fan of another province, I'm also scared he will fulfil that potential! :eek: :pac:

thomond2006

IRB World Player of the year 2014

Stev_o

anonymous_joe wrote: »

My worry would be what happens under the high ball. He's not as tall as the likes of Bowe, Kearney or Fitzgerald. Also, to make it onto the wing, he'd have take one of their places...

The high ball problem is fixable at best though and honestly wingers don't see as many high quaility bombs then FB's do.

Places is going to be a problem, for once we actually have proper competition for places instead of a solid XV and meh bench. Hopefully we will see guys picked on form rather then the picking the guy who started the last match for Ireland, that and we could finally see a really powerful bench something we haven't seen in years!

tughfc

i hope he turns out to be the next o driscoll but i don agree he doesnt seem to have that physicality that bod has but then again he seems to have the same eye as bod does for a gap which is very promising indeed for both munster and ireland!! the rugger world cup is looking alright at the moment for the irish youngsters!!

up them Schteps

If JDV does come to munster, it could be a fantastic opportunity to learn off one of the best, but it might mean being forced to remain on the wing for another year or two in Munster anyway.

premierstone

subfreq wrote: »

I wonder if they think Bowe is a better cover for BOD at the moment as he is playing very well for his club there. McFadden is also on the way up the ranks and looks a more natural outside center than Earls.

I saw an intervew with Earls where he basically said that his biggest personal worry is that he gets labelled a 'utility' back and wants to nail down a position.

At the moment I think he is most suited to winger but he has great players in front of him.

Transport to 5 years time and I could see.

9 - O'Leary
10 - Sexton / Keatley
11 - Earls
12 - McFadden
13 - Fitzgerald
14 - Bowe
15 - Kearney

Not to mention Felix Jones and Fionn Carr aswell, kind of exciting isnt it

Amazotheamazing

Ah come on, you can't compare BOD to Earls, when BOD came in the game was still going pro, it was nowhere near as tight as it is now.

Also, when BOD came in he was a light, elusive runner, not the powerful defender he is now.

Earls (and fitz etc) are coming through when young players have far more coaching but also when it's far harder to break into anyone position.

spoon

subfreq wrote: »

I wonder if they think Bowe is a better cover for BOD at the moment as he is playing very well for his club there. McFadden is also on the way up the ranks and looks a more natural outside center than Earls.

I saw an intervew with Earls where he basically said that his biggest personal worry is that he gets labelled a 'utility' back and wants to nail down a position.

At the moment I think he is most suited to winger but he has great players in front of him.

Transport to 5 years time and I could see.

9 - O'Leary
10 - Sexton / Keatley
11 - Earls
12 - McFadden
13 - Fitzgerald
14 - Bowe
15 - Kearney

That's an exciting back line even if it were to be fielded tomorrow. However, i think Earls is stronger in the centre than Fitz.

mink_man

he'll be ok!

up them Schteps

Yeah, i'd prefer to see fitz as a winger, I think that earls has the acceleration needed to break even the smallest gaps, and would fill 2nd center better.

itsallaboutheL

anonymous_joe wrote: »

He could break his leg tomorrow and never be the same player afterwards.

Rugby's a bit like that.

If I'm honest, he doesn't look like he'll ever be as good a defender as O'Driscoll. He's not as powerful (O'Driscoll's stockier than him for one thing) so even with experience won't have quite the same impact.

He looks like a great attacking full back, but conversely a poor defensive one. I'd reckon he's going to be a very good 13.

He's twice the size BOD was at his age

SpAcEd OuT

Lads lets not get ahead of ourselves Earls is nowhere near Brian O'Driscolls level at the same age. O'Driscoll 10 years ago was starting tests for the Lions and scoring tries for fun. A year younger than Earls he had torn the french apart in a 6 nations game and recieved plaudits from around the world. Earls will be good but he won't ever get to O'Driscolls level and I doubt we'll see any player scale those heights for a long time. O'Driscoll will go down as one of the greatest players to ever play rugby and the best centre the world has seen. Big shoes to fill

lobber

Let's not fall into the trap of comparing Earls to BOD. There will never be anyone quite like BOD, in Ireland or abroad. We should all be thankful we get to say to younger generations in years to come that we got to see BOD playing in the flesh!!!

After seeing the Ireland A's exploits in the Churchill cup, I think ireland's up and coming replacement for BOD is McFadden.

Earls is best with space and when running in broken play. In the centre you are sometimes relying on the space others make for or their distribution to you. full back or wing for me.

up them Schteps

I dont want to compare them, I asked do we think he will ever reach the same level of skill.....

spoon

I can't see why anyone would want to develop him at anywhere but center. Of the young crop we have coming through, he is the clear front runner to take over from BOD.
Yes he's great in broken field running, but his traits make him a dream attacking center, he has an eye for a gap and his acceleration is unreal, he could do with working on his offloading a bit more, but that will come with experience that he's not going to get from being used as a utility back.

Chucky the tree

I think Earls definitly has the potential to be as good as BOD going forward, however defensivily is a whole other matter. On spoons point I agree OC is easily the best position for him. His try against the emering Boks highlights this. His step, acceleration and eye for a gap all bode(or should I say BOD) well for a centre.

chupacabra

In 5 years time we are going to have a RIDICULOUS amount of world class backs in this country. Outside of the usual suspects of Fitz, Kearney, Earls et al, think of Dave Kearney, Ian Madigan, Brian O'Hara, Michael Keating, Andrew Conway, Nevin Spence, Conor Murray, Ian McKinley jaysus the list goes on. And even a quick look at u-18 level shows a myriad of talent just waiting to make the next step. So the current crop of young stars have their work cut out for them.

Amazotheamazing

lobber wrote: »

After seeing the Ireland A's exploits in the Churchill cup, I think ireland's up and coming replacement for BOD is McFadden.

The Churchill Cup is not a standard to judge anyone one, Earls and Fitz are off with the Lions, Mcfadden is three years older and playing against A sides.

I'd love to see all the guys from this years Churchill Cup come through and be great, but the hype about McFadden and Jones is way over the top.

anonymous_joe

up them Schteps wrote: »

Yeah I definatly agree about his size, but BOD was pretty average when he first came on the scene too, Earls is 21 now I think maybe 22, another few years of professional rugby and he should be bulky enough

You mean average in defence or what...?

Stev_o wrote: »

The high ball problem is fixable at best though and honestly wingers don't see as many high quaility bombs then FB's do.

Places is going to be a problem, for once we actually have proper competition for places instead of a solid XV and meh bench. Hopefully we will see guys picked on form rather then the picking the guy who started the last match for Ireland, that and we could finally see a really powerful bench something we haven't seen in years!

True, wing is safer than full back, but guys like Shaggy and Tommy Bowe have gotten plenty of mileage out of picking on small 11s.

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Ah come on, you can't compare BOD to Earls, when BOD came in the game was still going pro, it was nowhere near as tight as it is now.

Also, when BOD came in he was a light, elusive runner, not the powerful defender he is now.

Earls (and fitz etc) are coming through when young players have far more coaching but also when it's far harder to break into anyone position.

Of course you can compare the two!

Obviously pro game's a huge factor, and defences were significantly worse an O'Driscoll debuted, but they're both young, both Lions at a young age, and could end up as both having been 13s.

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

He's twice the size BOD was at his age

In what context?

subfreq

I really don't see him as nailed on for OC to be honest. He has so many traits that don't seem to be naturally in his game and yet they are skills Fitz has in abundance. I would have thought at the moment Fitz is the natural successor or even Bowe before Earls.

anonymous_joe

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

The Churchill Cup is not a standard to judge anyone one, Earls and Fitz are off with the Lions, Mcfadden is three years older and playing against A sides.

I'd love to see all the guys from this years Churchill Cup come through and be great, but the hype about McFadden and Jones is way over the top.

McFadden's only a year older.

up them Schteps

anonymous_joe wrote: »

You mean average in defence or what...?

In size. BOD was pretty slight (for an outside center) back in the day

anonymous_joe

up them Schteps wrote: »

In size. BOD was pretty slight (for an outside center) back in the day

Less of a problem then though. Fitness and defences weren't as good as they are now...

d'Oracle

The size thing doesn't swing for me.
He will get bigger with training and playing at the top level.

I don't think there is a point (or even the inclination in here) in comparing him to BOD. I will leave that point as it is.

But I will say that if you play rugby at the top level the way BOD does, you get hurt. Particularly as you get older. The more seasons that he plays, the more likely there will be games where the 13 jersey goes a begging.

I also think Earls will benefit from the competition with Fitz (who I believe prefers centre, feel free to correct me) and vice versa.
In 5 years he will have nailed down a spot, it wont be full back IMO, but wing or 13. I don't think there will be any concerns there.

stephen_n

up them Schteps wrote: »

Yeah I definatly agree about his size, but BOD was pretty average when he first came on the scene too, Earls is 21 now I think maybe 22, another few years of professional rugby and he should be bulky enough

stupid misread sorry

anonymous_joe

d'Oracle wrote: »

The size thing doesn't swing for me.
He will get bigger with training and playing at the top level.

I don't think there is a point (or even the inclination in here) in comparing him to BOD. I will leave that point as it is.

But I will say that if you play rugby at the top level the way BOD does, you get hurt. Particularly as you get older. The more seasons that he plays, the more likely there will be games where the 13 jersey goes a begging.

I also think Earls will benefit from the competition with Fitz (who I believe prefers centre, feel free to correct me) and vice versa.
In 5 years he will have nailed down a spot, it wont be full back IMO, but wing or 13. I don't think there will be any concerns there.

Well O'Driscoll's got a stockier build, which helps him at the breakdown and when tackling. He's also a much smarter defender which obviously comes with time.

Think Fitz was originally a full back, so not sure what his preferred position is. Was Earls a centre at school?

stephen_n wrote: »

Sorry but when was BOD average? he played for Ireland before getting a senior place in the Leinster setup and scored a hat trick of tries against France in Paris in his first 5 nations campaign. Don't know if Earls will do anything like that (really hope he does) but that is not an average start to an international carrer!

I think he meant average size. ^^

Amazotheamazing

anonymous_joe wrote: »

McFadden's only a year older.

Can we spilt the difference and say he's two years older? Born on the 17th of June, 1986, making him 23, Earls and Fitz both turned 21 last October and September.

Nah only messing, I had I my dates wrong, still though, the hype about him and Jones is way too much for guys who've played very little professional rugby.

anonymous_joe

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Can we spilt the difference and say he's two years older? Born on the 17th of June, 1986, making him 23, Earls and Fitz both turned 21 last October.

Nah only messing, I had I my dates wrong, still though, the hype about him and Jones is way too much for guys who've played very little professional rugby.

Let's quietly edit out our mistakes. No-one'll notice.

But yeah, people do get overly excited.

The one thing I would say is that at least most of the English lads they played were professionals too. So the Churchill Cup does have some good players in it.

But yeah, people are getting a bit mad about lads like Jones and McFadden, who while clearly very good, still have a bit to do.

The A competition should be good for lads like them.

Amabokke

up them Schteps wrote: »

How do people think Keith will develop in years to come? He is such a raw talent that i'm wondering will he reach (Dare I jynx it..) BOD's level? I have a feeling Munster and Ireland don't know what position to allow him to develop in. Wing or center. The problem I suppose is that he will won't get a chance to play center at international level till BOD quits......

Earls is like the Steyn or Pienaar from south Africa. They will never settle with him on one position and he will be the backup to every position in the backline. Therefore he won't get the experience to settle on a position and become the best. He might get better but probably won't ever become a game breaker unless he settles somewhere.

TarfHead

Comparing KE to BOD is unfair .. to KE.

BOD was a phenomenon at the start of his international career and continued to add dimensions to his game, i.e. kicking, defence, breakdown.

KE could fulfil his potential, enjoy a long and glorious career in Irish rugby, and still not match BOD's achievements. This would not lessen his (KE's)achievements.

At 20, BOD made his international debut, then played in his first RWC. In his first 6N, he scored a hat-trick in Paris (as a 21yo). In his first Lions tour, he shredded the RWC champion's defence.

I can't see what KE could do to trump that, apart from captaining Ireland to the World Cup in 2011 and scoring all the points in all the matches !

spoon

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Think Fitz was originally a full back, so not sure what his preferred position is. Was Earls a centre at school?

Keith was a 7 originally (like his father). Was then moved to 13 for a game or two because of injuries on his team, and he ended up staying there right though school.

Amazotheamazing

TarfHead wrote: »

Comparing KE to BOD is unfair .. to KE.

BOD was a phenomenon at the start of his international career and continued to add dimensions to his game, i.e. kicking, defence, breakdown.

KE could fulfil his potential, enjoy a long and glorious career in Irish rugby, and still not match BOD's achievements. This would not lessen his (KE's)achievements.

At 20, BOD made his international debut, then played in his first RWC. In his first 6N, he scored a hat-trick in Paris (as a 21yo). In his first Lions tour, he shredded the RWC champion's defence.

I can't see what KE could do to trump that, apart from captaining Ireland to the World Cup in 2011 and scoring all the points in all the matches !

different era really though, I don't think BOD will ever be bettered, but some people who saw Gibson play say BOD only comes close to his genius but he doesn't surpass it. You just can't compare, imo.