IRELAND HAVE BEEN here before and in remarkably similar fashion.
It was the week of the 2023 Six Nations opener against Wales and Tadhg Furlong was ruled out of the visit to the Principality Stadium with a calf injury that kept sidelined until the fourth round of the championship.
Finlay Bealham stood up impressively at tighthead in Furlong’s absence. Being the starter at Test level was a new role for the Connacht man at that stage but he was excellent in the wins over Wales and France before he suffered a knee injury in the third-round win over Italy.
It was ideal timing that Furlong could return for the closing two games against Scotland and England but there’s no doubt that Bealham had a major role in Ireland landing the Grand Slam that year.
Ulster’s Tom O’Toole backed up Bealham and then Furlong, making replacement appearances in all five games as he too showed he could step up to the mark at the highest level.
Now Ireland are hoping something similar will happen.
Furlong has been ruled out of this weekend’s Six Nations opener against England but they hope to see him back in action before the end of the championship given that the recurrence of his calf injury from earlier this season doesn’t seem to be as significant. Either way, it’s clearly a major blow for Ireland to lose a world-class player.
Bealham is primed to continue as the starting tighthead prop having been in the number three shirt for all four Tests last November when Furlong wasn’t fit.
It’s probably fair to say that Bealham was like several other Irish players in not being at his very best in the autumn but Ireland have great faith in him thanks to big performances like those he delivered in the 2023 Six Nations.
It’s interesting to look back on the early years of Bealham’s international career.
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Bealham has 46 caps for Ireland. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Just four of his first 27 caps for Ireland were in the starting team and one of those was at loosehead prop when Farrell switched him to his old position in a short-lived experiment against Georgia in 2020.
The other three starts at tighthead came against Canada, the US, and Japan, so Bealham had never started a frontline Test until the opening game of the 2023 Six Nations.
Since then, nine of his 19 caps have come as the starting tighthead prop. Those starts have been against Wales, France, Italy, Samoa, Italy, New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, and Australia.
So the 33-year-old Connacht man must feel he is more than ready to tackle this Six Nations as the leading man for Ireland.
It must be deeply frustrating for O’Toole that he is currently suspended, meaning he wasn’t able to compete for the bench slot behind Bealham again. The Ulster tighthead is banned for the first two rounds of the Six Nations.
November was also frustrating for O’Toole. He came on against New Zealand but was forced off with a head injury just two minutes later, missing the Argentina game a week later as a result.
Ireland then used him off the bench at loosehead – where he has been training in the Irish set-up, yet not playing there for Ulster – against Fiji but O’Toole was penalised twice at scrum time. He got 28 minutes at tighthead against the Wallabies but now he has to watch from home with Furlong out injured.
The most encouraging thing about November was that Leinster’s Thomas Clarkson did well as he won his first two international caps off the bench against Argentina and Fiji.
It was a quick rise to Test level for Clarkson, who had initially been included in the autumn group as a development player. He had only played once in the Champions Cup for Leinster and hadn’t been part of their frontline matchday 23 in recent seasons.
Thomas Clarkson at Ireland training in the Algarve. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Yet the Dublin man showed up well in the green jersey as he added notable energy off the bench in his two appearances, something he has also done for Leinster. Clarkson has had three further Champions Cup chances for his province since, including a start against Clermont.
It now looks like he will be asked to take the next big step in his career by backing up Bealham against an English pack that will be desperate to get stuck into this Irish side.
Ellis Genge starts at loosehead prop for England, while 22-year-old Fin Baxter of Harlequins will be aiming to impact off the bench on that side of the scrum.
Ireland added uncapped Connacht tighthead Jack Aungier to their squad in place of Furlong and his is a good story. Aungier doesn’t hail from one of the big rugby schools in Dublin, coming through at St Fintan’s High School and with Suttonians RFC before earning a place in the Leinster system.
Aungier made six Pro14 appearances for Leinster in the 2019/20 season but moved on to Connacht at the end of that campaign and has steadily built experience since. His good performances on last year’s Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa impressed Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty and the rest of the staff.
So the 26-year-old gets a chance to be in the mix with Ireland’s senior squad and who knows what lies ahead. Clarkson probably didn’t expect his November to be quite as busy as it was.
Munster’s Oli Jager might have hoped for a belated call-up but has been overlooked. He won his single Ireland cap during last year’s Six Nations and was part of the squad that toured South Africa last summer without playing. He has had injury problems this season but has been back starting for Munster in recent weeks. The Irish coaches have presumably given him feedback on what he needs to improve to return to the fold.
Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby also has the option of employing veteran loosehead prop Cian Healy at tighthead, something Leinster have done with Healy at times in recent seasons.
Indeed, 37-year-old Healy made two replacement appearances at tighthead for Leinster last month. Yet it’s not something that Ireland have spoken about exploring, even if Healy is always marked on official teamsheets as being able to cover tighthead, and they have been keen to keep developing longer-term depth anyway.
They’re hoping to get Furlong back during this Six Nations but Bealham, Clarkson, and Aungier must all step up in the meantime.
Furlong's absence means Bealham and younger guns must step up
IRELAND HAVE BEEN here before and in remarkably similar fashion.
It was the week of the 2023 Six Nations opener against Wales and Tadhg Furlong was ruled out of the visit to the Principality Stadium with a calf injury that kept sidelined until the fourth round of the championship.
Finlay Bealham stood up impressively at tighthead in Furlong’s absence. Being the starter at Test level was a new role for the Connacht man at that stage but he was excellent in the wins over Wales and France before he suffered a knee injury in the third-round win over Italy.
It was ideal timing that Furlong could return for the closing two games against Scotland and England but there’s no doubt that Bealham had a major role in Ireland landing the Grand Slam that year.
Ulster’s Tom O’Toole backed up Bealham and then Furlong, making replacement appearances in all five games as he too showed he could step up to the mark at the highest level.
Now Ireland are hoping something similar will happen.
Furlong has been ruled out of this weekend’s Six Nations opener against England but they hope to see him back in action before the end of the championship given that the recurrence of his calf injury from earlier this season doesn’t seem to be as significant. Either way, it’s clearly a major blow for Ireland to lose a world-class player.
Bealham is primed to continue as the starting tighthead prop having been in the number three shirt for all four Tests last November when Furlong wasn’t fit.
It’s probably fair to say that Bealham was like several other Irish players in not being at his very best in the autumn but Ireland have great faith in him thanks to big performances like those he delivered in the 2023 Six Nations.
It’s interesting to look back on the early years of Bealham’s international career.
Just four of his first 27 caps for Ireland were in the starting team and one of those was at loosehead prop when Farrell switched him to his old position in a short-lived experiment against Georgia in 2020.
The other three starts at tighthead came against Canada, the US, and Japan, so Bealham had never started a frontline Test until the opening game of the 2023 Six Nations.
Since then, nine of his 19 caps have come as the starting tighthead prop. Those starts have been against Wales, France, Italy, Samoa, Italy, New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, and Australia.
So the 33-year-old Connacht man must feel he is more than ready to tackle this Six Nations as the leading man for Ireland.
It must be deeply frustrating for O’Toole that he is currently suspended, meaning he wasn’t able to compete for the bench slot behind Bealham again. The Ulster tighthead is banned for the first two rounds of the Six Nations.
November was also frustrating for O’Toole. He came on against New Zealand but was forced off with a head injury just two minutes later, missing the Argentina game a week later as a result.
Ireland then used him off the bench at loosehead – where he has been training in the Irish set-up, yet not playing there for Ulster – against Fiji but O’Toole was penalised twice at scrum time. He got 28 minutes at tighthead against the Wallabies but now he has to watch from home with Furlong out injured.
The most encouraging thing about November was that Leinster’s Thomas Clarkson did well as he won his first two international caps off the bench against Argentina and Fiji.
It was a quick rise to Test level for Clarkson, who had initially been included in the autumn group as a development player. He had only played once in the Champions Cup for Leinster and hadn’t been part of their frontline matchday 23 in recent seasons.
Yet the Dublin man showed up well in the green jersey as he added notable energy off the bench in his two appearances, something he has also done for Leinster. Clarkson has had three further Champions Cup chances for his province since, including a start against Clermont.
It now looks like he will be asked to take the next big step in his career by backing up Bealham against an English pack that will be desperate to get stuck into this Irish side.
Ellis Genge starts at loosehead prop for England, while 22-year-old Fin Baxter of Harlequins will be aiming to impact off the bench on that side of the scrum.
Ireland added uncapped Connacht tighthead Jack Aungier to their squad in place of Furlong and his is a good story. Aungier doesn’t hail from one of the big rugby schools in Dublin, coming through at St Fintan’s High School and with Suttonians RFC before earning a place in the Leinster system.
Aungier made six Pro14 appearances for Leinster in the 2019/20 season but moved on to Connacht at the end of that campaign and has steadily built experience since. His good performances on last year’s Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa impressed Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty and the rest of the staff.
So the 26-year-old gets a chance to be in the mix with Ireland’s senior squad and who knows what lies ahead. Clarkson probably didn’t expect his November to be quite as busy as it was.
Munster’s Oli Jager might have hoped for a belated call-up but has been overlooked. He won his single Ireland cap during last year’s Six Nations and was part of the squad that toured South Africa last summer without playing. He has had injury problems this season but has been back starting for Munster in recent weeks. The Irish coaches have presumably given him feedback on what he needs to improve to return to the fold.
Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby also has the option of employing veteran loosehead prop Cian Healy at tighthead, something Leinster have done with Healy at times in recent seasons.
Indeed, 37-year-old Healy made two replacement appearances at tighthead for Leinster last month. Yet it’s not something that Ireland have spoken about exploring, even if Healy is always marked on official teamsheets as being able to cover tighthead, and they have been keen to keep developing longer-term depth anyway.
They’re hoping to get Furlong back during this Six Nations but Bealham, Clarkson, and Aungier must all step up in the meantime.
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