YOU ONLY HAVE to go back a year and doubts lingered in some quarters about whether Finlay Bealham was the man to support Tadhg Furlong at tighthead prop.
These days, there wouldn’t be many complaints if Connacht man Bealham started in Ireland’s number three shirt. He has been playing the rugby of his career since the autumn of last year.
It was Ireland’s November Test against South Africa in Dublin when Bealham finally silenced any remaining doubters.
Furlong was forced off injured at half time, a situation that used to cause anxiety among some Ireland fans. But Bealham was brilliant off the bench at the Aviva Stadium, helping the Irish scrum to three huge penalties against the Springboks.
He made some strong carries, delivered a few smooth passes, and also contributed six excellent tackles – the kind that have increasingly become his calling card.
Bealham has never looked back and he was hugely impressive in three starts in this year’s Grand Slam campaign while Furlong was sidelined before injury hit Bealham himself and he missed the closing two matches of the Six Nations.
He didn’t feature in Ireland’s opening World Cup game against Romania but 31-year-old Bealham has come off the bench in the wins over Tonga and South Africa. It was impossible to miss him chopping down Springboks ball-carriers in his excellent cameo in Paris. He made all six of his tackle attempts, with some of them key to Ireland seeing out their win.
“When you come on, you obviously want to make an impact but there’s smarts in there in that you’re trying to make an impact through our shape and structure that allows you to bring those moments and understand how to do it,” says Bealham of his impact.
“From a mindset point of view, when I’m on the bench I don’t care how many minutes I play, it’s ‘make the minutes count.’ I try my best to do that. It was good to come on, it was extremely physical even though I was on for 17 minutes or whatever it was.
“It was still incredibly physical and incredibly tough. It was good to see some impact from the bench, especially Hendy, Mur, and all the other boys who came on were unbelievable.”
Bealham stayed in Paris with some of his team-mates for a couple of days after Ireland’s win against the Boks before returning to base in Tours and getting back into rugby mode in preparation for this weekend’s big game against Scotland.
He would obviously love to get more starts for Ireland – eight of his 34 caps so far have been starts – but Bealham just wants to make sure he’s ready to contribute in whatever role Andy Farrell has for him.
“Obviously, there’s no team been named yet and it’s just about focusing on what I can control, fixing up things from the South Africa game, and then bringing my game on top of that,” he says.
It promises to be a huge occasion in Paris this Saturday night, with Ireland and Scotland both still fighting for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals.
It’s also notable because Ireland back row Peter O’Mahony could win his 100th Ireland cap. Funnily enough, Bealham has struck up a bromance with the Munster man.
“Me and Pete are best friends,” says Bealham. “He mightn’t say that to you, but he would say it to me the whole time and then, as well, I’m wearing crocs at the moment but I bought Pete the exact same pair so we could be matching.
“We get on well for many reasons. I don’t know if he will confirm this, but he wants to bring out a podcast with me, and then it will be kind of like two opposite characters chatting. The lads seem to get a good laugh out of us. Like I said, we’re best friends and I hope this lasts forever.
“But in all seriousness, he’s an incredible leader in the group.
“He’s someone that I look up to as a player and the way he is a professional about everything on and off the pitch. For him to get his 100th cap I’ll be delighted for him. He’s a credit to the jersey and his family will be proud of him I’m sure.”