Keith Earls retires following World Cup exit

Keith Earls has retired from professional rugby following Ireland's World Cup quarter-final defeat to New Zealand.

The 28-24 loss at Stade de France brought the curtain down on two decorated Irish careers, with Johnny Sexton stating long in advance that he would hang up his boots upon completion of the World Cup campaign.

It was thought that 36-year-old Earls, who started the opening pool game against Romania for his 101st cap but hasn’t featured in the match-day 23 since, would follow suit and speaking after the match, head coach Andy Farrell confirmed the Limerick man’s decision.

"I think the sad thing for us now is that for this group it's probably the end," he told RTÉ Sport.

Earls made his Ireland bow against Canada in 2008 at Thomond Park, where he scored a try just two minutes into his international career with his first touch of the ball.

Another 35 tries would follow and the Myross flyer started every game during Ireland’s 2018 grand slam campaign, with injury robbing him of involvement in this year’s side that also managed the clean sweep in the Six Nations.

"He's a legend and one of my best mates, not just in rugby but in life," team captain Sexton said of his fellow retiree post-match.

"I spend a lot of time with his family away from rugby and he's a top-class human being, a legend of a bloke. You couldn't meet a more popular lad in the squad. He's part of our team off the pitch.

"On the pitch, he's a legend as well. He's had some massive days, the 100th cap. I'm gutted for him that he picked up an injury at a bad time so he couldn't be involved in the last couple of weeks, but he'll go down as one of the very best for sure. This group will miss him definitely."

Farrell said that notwithstanding the pain of defeat, it