Keith Earls has a “burning desire” to travel to the fourth World Cup of his career after celebrating his 100th Ireland cap with a stunning try on an emotional outing against England.
Munster wing Earls led out his country alongside his three daughters on Saturday evening in Dublin before marking the occasion in style by coming off the bench to seal a 29-10 victory with a superb diving finish.
The 35-year-old received a host of touching tributes ahead of the landmark appearance at the Aviva Stadium, while his family were invited into camp on Thursday.
Earls went a year without international action due to injury issues before lining up against Italy at the start of the month but insists he did not return solely on sentimental grounds as he eyes a place on the plane to France.
“That’s the reason I’m here, that’s the reason I came back for pre-season, that’s the reason I’m doing everything possible to stay fit,” he said of World Cup selection.
“I have that burning desire to give myself the best chance of going to the World Cup and I tell you one thing I’d hate to be the coaches trying to pick their 33-man squad. It’s going to be tough.”
Andy Farrell is due to reduce his squad by five to a final 33 following next weekend’s clash with Samoa in Bayonne.
His Six Nations champions registered a 12th consecutive win by comfortably dispatching Steve Borthwick’s side.
The unassuming Earls, who added to scores from Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose, James Lowe and Mack Hansen with his 36th Ireland try, felt a little uncomfortable in the spotlight and feared being left embarrassed as an unused replacement following the big build up.
“I was saying to the lads, it was probably the worst week of my life with all the attention around the 100th cap,” he said.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done on Thursday trying to keep the tears out of my eyes around all of the lads.
“But I think I managed to do it, so that was grand.
“I’m delighted everything worked out perfectly and there’s not a better bunch of lads to do it with.
“It was hell sitting on the bench. It was nerve-wracking, thinking: ‘will he put me on? This will be very embarrassing after everything I’ve gone through’.”
In addition to receiving video messages from the likes of Ireland great Brian O’Driscoll and former coaches Declan Kidney and Joe Schmidt, Earls was presented with his milestone cap by head coach Farrell, while captain Johnny Sexton and forwards coach Paul O’Connell gave speeches.
A more offbeat homage came from team-mate Hansen, who shaved the initials KE and the number 100 into an eye-catching green haircut before claiming the man of the match award against England.
“He actually came in with just his hair dyed green and then he got this idea he wanted to cut a shamrock into the side of his head,” said Earls.
“That kind of went a bit pear-shaped and then he was like, ‘let’s get KE 100 into my head’.
“I was sitting in the team room and I was like, I want no part in this and walked away and then Craig (Casey) sent me a picture and what a horrendous job they had done on it.
“That man (Hansen), he’s such a unique character in rugby.
“When you can act like that and cut your hair like that and then go out and perform like that, you just have to leave him be.”
'Job not done' for Springboks after All Blacks triumph, says Kolisi
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi warned his team the job is far from done despite them rallying for a thrilling victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The Springboks secured a 31-27 win over the All Blacks at Ellis Park, coming from behind with two late tries from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Grant Williams.
The victory hauled South Africa onto 14 points in the Championship standings as they bid to end New Zealand's four-year stranglehold on the title, but Kolisi says there is still work to be done.
Addressing the capacity crowd in his post-match interview, Kolisi said: "We play for a lot but you people are our number one motivation.
"We appreciate you every single day. Please don't stop. When times are tough, please keep supporting us. We cannot do it without you.
"We respect the All Blacks. No matter what people say about them, when they need to turn up, they turn up. We believed in ourselves, we didn't panic, and we did what we wanted.
"They were catching us on the exit. After the first try in the second half, we picked it up. I'm really proud of the boys but the job is not done."
All Blacks captain Scott Barrett, meanwhile, was proud of his team-mates' efforts but admitted they had just fallen short of putting together a complete performance.
"Well done to the Springboks, it showed the class team they are," he said. "We weren't quite good enough. We were good for 62 minutes and it's an 80-minute game.
"There were two key moments after kick-offs where we couldn't quite get out of our half and they punished us. It was a huge effort, we're certainly proud, but it was just not quite to be.
"We'll regroup pretty quickly. Some guys have played here for the first time. It's intense and we'll have to be better next week."
South Africa host New Zealand again in Cape Town next week, while Australia go to Argentina for their round-three matchup.
Schmidt flummoxed by 'bizarre' Test as Australia downed by South Africa
Joe Schmidt said he cannot recall ever being involved in a more "bizarre" Test as his Australia side were downed 30-12 by South Africa in the Rugby Championship.
Malcolm Marx touched down twice for the Springboks in rainy Perth to make it two from two in the tournament but the Wallabies were hit by a swathe of injuries.
Front-row pair Allan Alaalatoa and Angus Bell were unable to return for the second half and scrums went uncontested after replacement prop James Slipper failed a head injury assessment.
The Wallabies even went down to 14 briefly when hooker Josh Nasser went off injured, though they did return to a full 15.
Reflecting on the unfortunate series of events, head coach Schmidt told Stan Sport: "It's probably one of the most bizarre games I've ever been involved in.
"In over 100 Test matches that I've been involved in I've never had a situation like that before. It happened so early in the game as well. When Slips got a head knock right after half-time.
"And then we were straight down. And then we played with 14 for a period of time before the officials worked out that we were still entitled to have a full pack because of the HIA.
"But I still am proud of the way that the guys fought their way through that second half. And the way that they stayed in the fight in the first half. It could have been, and I know it could have been as easy to say, but it could have been 12-11 at half-time and that would have been a massive lift for the boys."
Australia are winless through their first two matches, both against the Springboks, and will next face Argentina in La Plata on August 31.
Australia 12-30 South Africa: Springboks' late charge downs Wallabies
Malcolm Marx scored two tries in the second half to lead South Africa to a 30-12 victory over Australia in rainy Perth.
After a tight first half, the Springboks asserted their dominance to make it two wins from two in the Rugby Championship ahead of their meeting with New Zealand next week.
Noah Lolesio's penalty gave Australia the early lead, but they could not hold onto it for long as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu equalised moments before Aphelele Fassi latched onto a long kick to touch down the first try.
Lolesio slotted in two more kicks only to miss another on the stroke of half-time that would have given the Wallabies the lead.
They were punished for it after the break as Marco van Staden and Malcolm Marx twice touched down to maintain South Africa's perfect start.
Though it was a marked improvement for the Wallabies from their opening-day performance in Brisbane, Joe Schmidt still has work to do to get them ready for Argentina next weekend.
Data Debrief: Springboks extend Australian run
South Africa have now won each of their last three Test matches against the Wallabies in Australia. The last time they recorded a longer such winning run was a four-match span from July 1971 to July 1993.
Though Australia have suffered back-to-back defeats, they showed more of a fight. Last week, it took them 75 minutes to score, compared to just three this time around.
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