If you go back and watch the clip of Robbie Henshaw’s late, match-clinching try against the All Blacks at Soldier Field, you’ll spot a fresh-faced Finlay Bealham packing down at tighthead at the ensuing scrum.
It was only the Connacht prop’s third international appearance on the fateful day in Chicago eight years ago.
Tadhg Furlong had emptied the tank and Bealham was summoned from the bench to help Ireland get over the line in what prove an excruciatingly tense final quarter.
Caelan Doris, right, and Tadhg Furlong of Ireland during the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris, France. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Bealham held up his end of the bargain and locked out that late scrum on the All Blacks line. A few seconds later, Henshaw was flying onto Jamie Heaslip’s switch pass. And the rest is history.
Ireland v New Zealand has developed into a real – and sometimes bitter – rivalry since that seismic day Stateside in 2016.
The status quo at tighthead has not changed, however.
BKT United Rugby Championship, Kingspan Stadium, Belfast 12/10/2024 Ulster vs Connacht Connacht’s Finlay Bealham. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie
Bealham’s role as back-up to his illustrious fellow frontrower has been a recurring theme.
Furlong, it must be said, is a generational talent at tighthead. A British and Irish Lion who has started six consecutive Tests across tours of duty in New Zealand and Australia.
The New Ross native will be short odds to make it nine successive starts in the storied red jersey in Australia in next summer.
Furlong has been one of the premier tightheads on the planet for the best part of a decade. Bealham, for all his industry and consistency, has never been able to force the issue at international level.
Ireland Rugby Press Conference, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 6/11/2024
Head Coach Andy Farrell
Pic: INPHO/Nick Elliott
He has served as the ever-reliable deputy. The next cab off the rank. But only when Furlong has been deemed unavailable. It was the same story with yesterday’s team selection.
When Furlong pulled up with an injury during the training camp in Portugal, Bealham got the nod to face down the All Blacks.
It is instructive that this will only be his 10th Ireland start in 43 appearances.
The Canberra-born prop is well accustomed to this situation. He has always been available to answer the call.
And, when afforded a rare start, he has more than held his own, especially during the 2023 Six Nations when he started against Wales, Italy and France when Furlong was nursing a calf injury.
Finlay Belham and Peter O’Mahony. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
But this is going to be another big step-up for the 33-year-old. Dare we say it, this is the biggest game of his international career to date.
New Zealand, no doubt, will take confidence form Furlong’s absence. They know and respect the Leinster veteran.
Bealham has been written off for most of his career. He was once told he was ‘too small’ to play prop back in his native Australia.
Indeed, after he decided to pursue a different career path with Ireland – qualifying through a grandmother who hailed from Enniskillen – he encountered another road block.
Despite impressing for the Ireland U20s, Ulster took a pass on him before Connacht came calling.
The AIG Rugby Weekend, Solider Field, Chicago, USA 5/11/2016
Ireland vs New Zealand All Blacks
Ireland’s Finlay Bealham celebrates winning. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland
Bealham has since become a stalwart out west. He pitched up in Galway in 2010 and recently passed the 200-cap mark for the Westerners.
He doesn’t possess the size or impact of a Furlong, but Bealham is a hard-working, fit and mobile operator.
He knows that a major test is coming down the tracks tomorrow night, mind. The Irish scrum has been under the spotlight in the past 12 months. There were set-piece problems in the World Cup quarter-final defeat against New Zealand and it was the same story in South Africa during the summer.
Andrew Porter has had his fair share of frustrations with match officials in this area and Andy Farrell’s side feel there may be a biased impression of their scrum, but it’s up to them to change perceptions.
One thing is certain, the visitors will quietly feel they can get an edge in this area. It’s up to Bealham to do what he did in the Windy City all those years ago: lock up the scrum. It will be easier said than done against Tamaiti Williams and Tyrel Lomax.
At least Farrell has some reliable performers in this area. Bealham and Tom O’Toole have proven themselves in big games down the years.
We shudder to think what would happen if Porter went to ground during this November window.
What are Farrell’s options if his first-choice loosehead gets injured?
A 37-year-old Cian Healy stepping up, with rookie Leinster loosehead Jack Boyle, who was named as a training panellist in the wider training squad, providing cover on the bench.
Farrell desperately needs to unearth another frontline loosehead during this autumn international window. A Test debut for Boyle, potentially against Fiji in the coming weeks, is looking increasingly likely.
Bealham’s promotion was the only eyebrow-raising selection by Farrell. Speaking of the frontrow, the Ireland head coach was always going to give Ronan Kelleher and Rob Herring every chance to prove their fitness for this game.
Dan Sheehan’s long-term injury was one factor but there was clearly a jitteriness among the Ireland management to place their faith in Bealham’s Connacht colleague Dave Heffernan.
Heffernan has been having a good season on the URC beat but Kelleher, despite just 12 minutes of rugby under his belt this term, has been given the nod while Herring, who has yet to feature for Ulster this season, is named on the bench.
Farrell trusts Kelleher and Herring. The former is an explosive and powerful player who has thrived in this fixture. Kelleher himself will feel he has plenty of unfinished business against these opponents after Jordie Barrett thwarted what could have been a match-winning, late try in that ill-fated Paris meeting last year.
Herring will be 35 in April but the Ulster hooker remains a highly-rated member of this set-up. The South African-born forward is fit, a powerful scrummager, a reliable lineout thrower and experienced. Exactly the lind of player for an assignment like this.
It’s the same story across this matchday squad. Scope for experimentation has been kept to a bare minimum. It’s a fairly settled team these days. It that a good thing in the long term? For now, it’s all about getting a result. At least Farrell is going to find out a lot more about his back-up tighthead.
IRELAND (v NEW ZEALAND): Hugo Keenan (Leinster); Mack Hansen (Connacht), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Bundee Aki (Connacht), James Lowe (Leinster); Jack Crowley (Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster); Andrew Porter (Leinster), Rónan Kelleher (Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht); Joe McCarthy (Leinster), James Ryan (Leinster); Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster, capt).
Reps: Rob Herring (Ulster), Cian Healy (Leinster), Tom O’Toole (Ulster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Conor Murray (Munster), Ciarán Frawley (Leinster), Jamie Osborne (Leinster).
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
