Ireland flyer Keith Earls has admitted that he has been overcome with a feeling that Ireland are going to make it to the final of the Rugby World Cup.
In such a competitive environment where the winning of matches normally comes down to such fine margins, pre-match utterances from players are traditionally limited to clichés about not looking beyond the next game and platitudes towards the opposition.
Prior to what should be a mouth-watering quarter-final against Wales tomorrow, however, the straight-talking Munster winger couldn’t help admitting his instinct that everything is going right for Team Ireland in the Land of the Long White Cloud.
“It’s strange, I have this feeling,” said Earls.
“Speaking to my father and family members back home…I have this strange feeling inside me where it feels like everything is going right. Everything went right in the group and everyone is so happy. I keep imagining ourselves in the final.
“I’m concentrating on playing Wales, but it is a strange feeling I have.”
Like many Irish players, there was a cloud hanging over Earls’ form coming into the tournament, but he has put such worries behind him in devastating fashion since the competition got underway, scoring four tries in total after a brace in the last two matches against Italy and Russia.
The Moyross man is on top of his game at the moment and he attributes his form in part to his practise of sports psychology. He visualised scoring a try against the Italians and it came to pass on two occasions and he jokingly added that is target for the Wales game is to go one better.
“Visualisation helps and Ronan O’Gara is big into it,” Earls added.
“In the Grand Slam-winning game against Wales in 2009 he visualised himself kicking a drop-goal and that’s what happened.
“Even with myself, last week I was rooming with Conor Murray and I was telling him I was going to score against Italy. If you think positively then positive things will happen.
“For our game against Wales I’ve visualised a hat-trick! No, a good performance from the boys and a good victory.
“You’re on the world stage and you want to do well. You visualise yourself being the hero and the team walking around doing a lap of honour.
“It’s dreaming more than anything but you have to be positive.”
Earls says that the Irish squad always had faith in their ability, even when things were going against them and many observers were writing them off going into the World Cup. That faith is as a result of the consistently excellent performances of the Irish provinces and the presence of the senior players in the squad, who have been there, done it and bought the tee-shirt.
“It’s amazing the way the provinces have been playing. Irish rugby is on a massive high,” Earls added.
“A lot of people didn’t respect us, or didn’t believe we could go this far in the World Cup. But we’ve been playing well and are in the right place. If we stick to our game plan we can beat anyone on our day.
“The likes of Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell and Gordon D’Arcy have been around for a long time.
“This is Brian’s fourth World Cup but he has only played in one quarter-final. A player of his calibre should be playing in semi-finals and finals on the world stage.
“Hopefully this will be the year for the senior players.”
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