Relaxed.

Keith Earls can’t seem to put a foot wrong these days. The Limerick man has been playing with a smile on his face this season, and that has reflected in his incredible form for Munster and Ireland.

Having burst onto the scene at such a young age as a schoolboy prodigy, Earls was always destined for great things. But like many players that come through so young, Earls suffered with a number of niggling injuries.

Every time he seemed to gather momentum, he was brought to a halt. He was told to bulk up, then slim down. 10 years later he’s finally found a happy medium, and he seems to have overcome his injury problems.

He also revealed today that he’s approaching games a lot differently these days. He can’t help but be relaxed. Why? Simply become he realises just how damn lucky he and we are for the lives we have.

“It’s weird, I can’t help being relaxed now going into games. A big thing for me is putting things in perspective and it’s something I do every day, every half an hour, every minute.” Earls said today.

“When you have kids, you see some of the stuff that is going on in Syria and if I needed to be grounded or if I’m worried about a game I go back and look at that and see how lucky we are.”

A top player, but more importantly a top man. A boy the kid.