Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton’s immediate reaction to Keith Earls’ tackle says it all

Patrick McCarry

And then a hero comes along….

You often hear of players and coaches talking about leaving it all out on the field. Of emptying the tank for the cause. Wringing every last effort out.

Keith Earls is now the template for that. Show up-and-c0ming players the Munster man’s sprint back and tackle on Mattia Bellini in the 79th minute of Ireland’s 56-19 victory over Italy.

With 79:10 gone on the clock, sub Jordan Larmour made two outrageous steps to gain nigh on 20 metres and open the Italians up. Ireland sensed their ninth try but Bellini intercepted a high Joey Carbery pass and set off up the pitch. Had Carbery’s pass found a teammate, Ireland had a simple score. Instead, they were looking at a potential 14-point swing.

Earls had already put in a sensational shift – 75 metres gained off 13 carries, one try, one stunning over-head catch, three line breaks, five tackles stuck – but in the last minute of a high-tempo game, he sucked it up and went after Bellini. At the start, this is what he was facing:

Just to the right of the posts, stretching the Italian defensive line, Earls was alert to the intercept.

On commentary for TV3, Dave McIntyre said, “And it’s given away by Carbery… he may have to lead the chase… Earls still going.”

He sure was. The sense of anticipation in the Lansdowne Road crowd was palpable. With every sprinted stride, Earls was gaining on Bellini. Just as the 24-year-old was entering the Ireland 22, Earls was on him. Surely jaded from the chase, Earls kept his composure to swat away one offload attempt before he sunk his shoulder into Bellini’s ribs and took him down.

Credit: TV3

A joy to watch, for Irish fans at least and they saluted the effort loudly. As Joe Schmidt remarked:

“Keith Earls has gotten a little bit older… he hasn’t gotten any slower. I thought his chase-down was sensational.”

The immediate reaction of Johnny Sexton and Conor Murray, who were both on the bench when Earls made his tackle, says it all. The pair were up for a standing ovation and many in the crowd followed suit.

Nothing but respect from Sexton and Murray. Game respect game.

In 2015, Ireland would not have won the Six Nations title had Jamie Heaslip not chased back to prevent a certain Stuart Hogg try, at Murrayfield. Ireland have three games to go in this championship but, along with Sexton’s drop goal, that felt like another ‘championship moment’.

As for the man himself, he said: