British and Irish Lions
On 21 April 2009, Earls was selected as part of the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. He made his Lions debut on 30 May 2009, in a nervy, error-strewn performance against a South African Royal XV. A week later, against Currie Cup outfit the Free State Cheetahs, he put in a far improved showing, scoring an impressive try which ultimately proved crucial to the result, with the Lions coming through to win 26–24. On 23 June 2009, he scored a try from fullback in a tour match against the Emerging Springboks. On receiving the ball at the out half position and stepping past three rushing defenders, he touched down for the Lions' only try in a 13–13 draw. Earls also played against Western Province and Southern Kings in mid-week games, but he did not win any full Lions caps on the tour.
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