A WORD OF warning. The contents of this interview with Finlay Bealham may be distressing to some readers, but the detail in which he describes his injury and subsequent recovery, makes the Connacht prop’s return, with the support of his family and the province’s medical team, all the more remarkable.
Four weeks ago, during Connacht’s Challenge Cup quarter-final against Sale Sharks, Bealham was sprung off the bench earlier than expected, replacing the injured Dominic Robertson-McCoy shortly before half-time.
Andy Friend’s side, despite an improved second-half performance, had left themselves with too much to do and were facing into a European exit when Bealham, in the closing stages of the game, looked to latch onto team-mate Denis Buckley to make a tackle on Sale second row Bryn Evans.
Buckley, with the aid of Dave Heffernan from the opposite side, got into an excellent position over the ball and forced the turnover penalty on halfway, buying Connacht one last opportunity, through the boot of Darragh Leader, to reduce the scoreboard deficit.
But as Buckley battled for possession on the ground and play continued, Bealham had instantly collapsed to the floor on the other side of the ruck, while clutching his right hand, the immediate and execrable pain etched all over his face.
As soon as the Ireland international hit the floor, his cries of ‘ah fuck’ cutting across the referee’s microphone, it became disturbingly evident that Bealham was in serious discomfort, the shrieks of utter agony becoming increasingly audible.
Three of Connacht’s medical staff, including the team doctor, attended to Bealham as he lay stricken on the pitch, instantly covering his hand with a towel such was the gruesome nature of the damage.
The innocuous nature of the incident, as Bealham suffered what appeared to be a glancing blow, initially suggested he had sustained a broken arm or dislocated shoulder on impact with the turf, but the live TV pictures that followed were deeply concerning.
“I remember making the tackle and looking down,” he recalls. “The pain was unbearable straight away. It was traumatic, looking down and being able to see the inside of my hand. It was a pretty serious laceration. I was in a lot of shock.”
Visibly traumatised, Bealham was given pain-relieving gas as the medics looked to get him off safely, but the severity of the injury became clear when the tighthead began to retch and then vomit as he was helped from the pitch.
“I was feeling pretty weak in my body,” Bealham continues. “And obviously it was an upper-body injury but I just felt like I couldn’t get up off the ground. I was dizzy and weak and ended up getting physically sick as well. It was probably just a combination of the pain and shock.
“I remember they started playing again and they were near me, and I didn’t know the extent of the damage, but I was just hoping that I wasn’t going to get a bang and fall over again because I was completely shaken. It was pretty traumatic.”
From Sale’s AJ Bell Stadium, Bealham was immediately rushed to hospital in Manchester and because the bone in his right hand was visible, initially it was feared he had suffered serious compound damage.
But, somehow, Bealham, despite the nastiness of the wound and distress of the situation, was given the all-clear to travel back to Galway with the rest of the Connacht squad the following morning, after doctors had determined there was no broken bones or ligament damage. Good news, until the cut — which required 14 stitches — became infected.
“We got back from Sale on the Saturday and my hand had swollen considerably,” he explains. “And then on the Sunday, it was still swollen and I was thinking ‘Jeez this must be infected’ as it was still so painful and my arm was a balloon.
“I had to go get it checked by the doctors again and, yeah, it was infected. I was rushed back into hospital in Galway and I was on an IV drip for a week, which was shitty, but it had to be done and thankfully the IVS settled it down.
“There was talk that they would have to go back in and clean it [the wound] out again which would have obviously slowed down the recovery process. That was a pretty shitty week in hospital as I was still very sick.
“It took a lot out of me physically and mentally. I was on the ropes for the bit, I was quite sick for a couple of days and those days in hospital were tough. I was weak and, yeah, it took it out of me a good bit.”
At that time, Bealham was not thinking about getting back before the end of the season, rather the focus was now on ensuring the infection was cleared and he made enough progress in his recovery to be discharged from hospital.
Thankfully, the antibiotics he was prescribed worked and, ahead of Connacht’s Pro14 game against Zebre three weekends ago, Bealham was able to return home to continue his recuperation.
“I was told just to stay at home after hospital,” he says. “I had some really good support around me but obviously I wasn’t able to do any physical exercise so I was kind of hopping off the walls and bouncing around the house bored out of my mind.
“My girlfriend’s family took me in and really looked after me, which I’m really grateful for, as I couldn’t really do too much with the hand at that stage. I can’t describe how much it took out of me physically and I’m thankful I had that support network as it helped me through it.”
By the end of the second week after the injury, Bealham’s health, through a lot of rest and recovery, had improved sufficiently for him to attend Connacht’s crucial Pro14 victory over Cardiff Blues at the Sportsground, and then return to limited training under the supervision of the medics.
Initially, he was confined to gym work in order to build up his strength and fitness again after such a traumatic experience but once the doctors were happy the wound had closed over and his hand healed, Bealham was re-integrated back into first-team training.
He continues: “I remember the doctors saying to me that people would come in after slicing their hand with a knife while cutting potatoes or whatever and they’d have half a cut or even a quarter of a cut and it has been a 12-week job, so they were amazed that I managed to come out with little to no damage aside from the gash.
“The extra week off at home I had was really key. As boring as it was, I was able to just rest and every day it was getting better and better, which makes you positive and lifts your spirits because at the time you’re thinking that’s my season gone. It’s over.”
Incredibly, however, Bealham — just four weeks after suffering the most horrific and nasty hand injury — will return for Connacht in this evening’s inter-pro against Munster at Thomond Park [KO 7.35pm, eir Sport/Premier Sports].
The nine-time capped international has had to train with the last two fingers of his right hand strapped as the webbing is cut and he will wear a hurling glove tonight to give him extra protection.
“I was really looked after by all the Connacht and Sale medical team and the way they kept an eye on me and got me off the pitch and the right treatment, I’m really thankful for that,” he says.
“I’m just incredibly grateful. At the time, and certainly, when I was quite sick in hospital, I was fearing the worst. Like season-ending and months out or whatever. But I got some really good care and my family and girlfriend were able to get me back on my feet pretty quickly.
I know this sounds silly but this was probably the worst injury of my career and I only missed two games, so when you put it in perspective like that, it’s not that bad. At the time it was pretty traumatic, being able to see the inside of my hand and see what’s going on there, but thankfully there was no lasting damage and I’ve been able to get back on the pitch pretty quickly.
Bealham’s return to fitness is a major fillip for Connacht as they head into the Pro14 end-of-season play-offs, with Friend’s side travelling to Limerick this evening having already assured themselves of a quarter-final place, where they will face Ulster next weekend.
While the western province cannot improve on their third-place position in Conference A, Connacht go into the game high on motivation as they build towards Ulster, and bid to record a fifth straight Pro14 victory for the first time since 2016.
“At this stage of the season, momentum is key and we’ll be looking to build on the Cardiff performance this weekend so we can hit the ground running against Ulster,” Bealham adds.
“We know we’ve a massive task in front of us, Munster at Thomond Park, but on a personal level, I’m just delighted and thankful to be back. I can’t wait to get stuck in and hopefully put my hand up for the quarter-final.”
Munster:
15. Mike Haley
14. Andrew Conway
13. Chris Farrell
12. Dan Goggin
11. Calvin Nash
10. Tyler Bleyendaal
9. Conor Murray
1. Dave Kilcoyne
2. Niall Scannell
3. Stephen Archer
4. Jean Kleyn
5. Tadhg Beirne
6. Peter O’Mahony (captain)
7. Chris Cloete
8. CJ Stander.
Replacements:
16. Rhys Marshall
17. Jeremy Loughman
18. John Ryan
19. Billy Holland
20. Arno Botha
21. Neil Cronin
22. JJ Hanrahan
23. Sammy Arnold.
Connacht:
15. Tiernan O’Halloran
14. Niyi Adeolokun
13. Bundee Aki
12. Tom Daly
11. Stephen Fitzgerald
10. Conor Dean
9. Kieran Marmion
1. Matthew Burke
2. Tom McCartney
3. Finlay Bealham
4. Joe Maksymiw
5. James Cannon
6. Eoin McKeon
7. Jarrad Butler (captain)
8. Robin Copeland.
Replacements:
16. Shane Delahunt
17. Peter McCabe
18. Conor Carey
19. Eoghan Masterson
20. Paul Boyle
21. Caolin Blade
22. Eoin Griffin
23. Darragh Leader.
Referee: Frank Murphy [IRFU].
Gavan Casey and Murray Kinsella are joined by Andy Dunne to get stuck into last weekend’s Champions Cup semi-finals.:
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