THE LIONS management and players were quick to offer Keith Earls a consoling shoulder in the wake of what was a painful tour debut in more ways than one against the Royal XV in Rustenburg.

The young Irish centre spilled a few passes early on, possibly the legacy of a shoulder injury sustained in the early throes of the game.

Despite his discomfort he never shirked his responsibilities until being forced to give way midway through the second half to be replaced by Riki Flutey. Lions’ backs coach Rob Howley pointed out: “The Lions jersey can do funny things. It can make you feel 6ft 8in tall, or you can drop that first ball and second ball. Keith Earls will be a much better player from the experience of Saturday. We’ve all had the t-shirt of those games we want to forget.

“With Keith, it is about nipping it in the bud now by talking about his experience so he will learn and gain confidence from that.”

Howley confirmed that he had a cup of coffee with the 21-year- old yesterday morning and they talked things through.

The former Welsh scrumhalf was not alone, Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll also seeking out the young centre.

“Keith Earls spilled a few passes, and I sought him out afterwards to tell him how impressed I was that he did not let his head drop.

“He tried to over compensate after an early slip, but his defence was always strong and he never tried to hide from the ball. He remains a young man with a huge talent that will be seen on this tour.”

Earl’s midfield partner Jamie Roberts was equally unequivocal: “Keith and myself were playing in our first games for the Lions; we’re both young guys and there were just a few early nerves for him. He’s a class act and I’m sure he’ll bounce back really strongly.” Earls certainly will but how about the Lions? Roberts, who had a fine game making several barnstorming runs at inside centre, admitted: “It doesn’t really matter how I did personally, it is how we played as a side that matters.

“I think on the whole the guys will be disappointed. It’s more frustrating than anything, the turnovers, the knocks-on, losing the ball in contact. They killed us at the end of the day.

“We’ve got a lot to work on. You can’t play rugby if you lose the ball and we’ll probably do a lot of handling drills this week,” he added with a smile.

Several of the players, including captain Paul O’Connell, spoke about the difficulty of playing at altitude under a hot sun, pointing out that the players actually felt better and had more energy in the second half than they did in the first.

O’Connell’s second row partner Simon Shaw admitted that he struggled with a shortness of breath, a constant dry mouth and a burning sensation at the back of his throat.

Aside from the handling errors there will be plenty for the Lions backroom team to work on in training this week and one of those areas will be the breakdown. Forwards’ coach Warren Gatland pointed out: “We have to be more dynamic at the breakdown. The Royal XV competed very hard and it is one area we need to work hard on. We left a lot of things behind and this gives us a real wake-up call.”

Irish players provided some of the more positive contributions for the Lions on the day with Ronan O’Gara racking up 22 points including a try, and Tommy Bowe crossing for the first try of the 2009 tour to South Africa.

The Ospreys wing smiled: “Right place at the right time and Rog’s pass was perfect. Personally I am happy to get my name on the try list and more importantly get the win. There’s a lot to work on individually and collectively.”

O’Connell got through a significant amount of work and it was his line break that led to O’Gara’s try.

He was also the player singled out by the Royal XV’s coach Chaka Willemse: “I now know why he is the Lions captain. He was really impressive, a guy who leads from the front and takes responsibility.” The Lions will need more players to lead rather than follow starting on Wednesday night.