With Ireland set to play Wales in what could be one of the pivotal games of this season's Six Nations anticipation and excitement is at fever pitch, but the hype surrounding the game couldn't affect Keith Earls any less.
Talking to Off The Ball's Oisin Langan during his media scrum at Carton House today, the Munster winger was complimentary of this weekend's opposition, noting the competitive nature of previous games between the sides.
"They're always massive games, they're always close games, and I suppose they're a passionate country and they're a passionate team as well".
"They're always physical games. I regard them as up there as one of the best teams physically, tactically, and especially aerially as well. There's always big talk about the high ball stuff, and for me they're probably one of the best teams at it, so it's going to be a massive challenge".
Despite the anticipation for Ireland's first test against a home nations side, Earls is staying as cool as he can mentally and simply focusing on keeping his mind and body right.
"We've had a close look at them, a close look at their players but I think the most important thing for me is to look after myself. If I can get myself right hopefully we can shut down what they throw at us".
"I'm enjoying my rugby at the moment and hopefully Saturday can be the same way. I'll prepare like it's any other team but obviously the hype everywhere else is going to be massive, but I'll still stay nice and relaxed about it".
Not an easy task considering the nature of the game and its importance to Ireland's championship hopes, but Earls said it was easy to keep calm once you put things into perspective in a wider context outside of rugby or sport in general.
"It's weird, I can't helped but be relaxed going into games now. A big thing for me is putting things into perspective, and that's something I do everyday, every half an hour, every minute".
"You see, you know when you have kids and you see some of the stuff that's going on in Syria now, and if I need to be grounded or if I'm worried about a game I'll go back and look at that and just see how lucky we are".
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