THE MONTHS SPENT in lockdown gave Finlay Bealham time to take a step back and reassess the path he is on.
The 28-year-old prop reckons he is at the midway point of his rugby career. He has a few years already put in the bank, but there’s still plenty of mileage left in the tank.
It’s understandable to feel contemplative at this time, given some of the horrible injuries he has suffered in his most recent years on the rugby pitch. In 2019, after being sprung from the bench in a Challenge Cup quarter-final against Sale Sharks, he was struck down by a horrific hand injury while trying to force a turnover.
It left him with a deep wound that required 14 stitches, which in turn, developed into an infection.
Earlier this year, he was felled again, this time by an ankle fracture. It happened just five minutes into their clash with Edinburgh and surgery was required. It was a pre-pandemic world back then and the Australian native was in a race against time to be fit for the remainder of Connacht’s season.
Covid-19 has brought plenty of dysfunction to the world, but stalling the rugby season gave Bealham a lot of added time to heal his body again.
“Oh, 100%,” he responds when asked if the timing of the pandemic was a blessing in disguise for him.
I think as well, there’s not any pressure to get back on you. I had a decent injury and there was no pressure to get back, I was just going through my rehab every day and doing all the little bits I had to make sure I was physically improving.
“I wasn’t stressing about getting back for particular games so it was certainly a blessing in disguise for me.”
During the stricter stages of lockdown, when contact with anyone outside your home was minimal, Bealham used novel methods to get his rehab work done.
“Rehab has been really good. It was actually strange, I didn’t get a whole pile of hands-on treatment because I had the surgery and I think it was a week later we went into lockdown. I was on Facetime with Garrett Coughlan our head physio.
It was strange enough, he was in his house and he’s putting the phone on the floor and watching me do all my ankle work.
“I had really good support around me from him and they got me back on my feet. It was supposed to be a 14-week injury and, if we were able to play, I would have been back in about nine weeks so I’ve had a really good recovery time and I wasn’t held too far back from that.
“I’ve been doing full training ever since we started so I’m ready to rock.”
With that recent injury setback now behind him, Bealham can look to the resumption of Connacht’s season and their Pro14 meeting with Ulster on Sunday.
His parents, who regularly visit him in Ireland, were planning on making the trip over earlier this year. His father especially likes to time their holidays around their son’s rugby fixtures.
But travel restrictions means they will have to stay put on the Gold Coast in Queensland, and watch Connacht’s game at the Aviva Stadium from home.
“We miss having him [Bealham's father] over but it is what it is,” says Bealham, whose sister is also in Queensland.
They’re going to be watching the games at home and as soon as the game is over, I’ll be texting him to see what he thought, if he thought I was rubbish or if he thought I did alright.
“We’re thinking of them in these tough times but they’re coping really well.”
“My brother,” Bealham continues, “is a police officer in Melbourne and as we all know, they’ve gone back into a six-week lockdown. It’s tough on him, he has to work and then go straight back home and I think the problem was he got a taste for living outside the lockdown and he was able to go to the gym and all that.
“The next thing he was back into lockdown. But he’s a strong boy.
“I keep in touch with them most days so they’re doing great.”
My dad got a call from @FinlayBealham ! Thank you and well done @FinlayBealham and @connachtrugby . Looking forward to getting back to the Sportsground https://t.co/43KN5TOImA
— Carol (@Carol54489700) April 9, 2020
The lockdown period has offered Bealham plenty of reflection time, but he also had an opportunity to connect with the Connacht fans.
Through an initiative spearheaded by the club, Bealham was able to chat to some supporters over the phone and check in on them during an unprecedented time.
Bealham’s efforts clearly left a positive impact. The daughter of one of the fans he spoke to paid tribute to his gesture by posting a lovely message about it on Twitter.
“We just rang a few of the season ticket holders just to chat about rugby,” Bealham explains, saying that those conversations were a highlight for him during lockdown.
“It’s not all about us the players, it’s all about the community and all the fans that we have.
They’re so loyal to us so it’s the least we can do, just to get in touch with them and see how they were coping through the lockdown.
“It’s obviously a very tough period for everyone so I think it was great that we reached out and made sure everyone was getting on well because we’re a really tight-knit group at Connacht. That’s with the players, the staff and the fans – we’re all a big family. We were happy to do it.”
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