FINLAY BEALHAM SAYS he is determined to push on with Ireland following the disappointment of the World Cup quarter-final exit to New Zealand.
The 32-year-old prop had his first taste of that competition in France and is now keen to add to his 36 caps in green and remain part of Andy Farrell’s plans.
The Canberra native has recharged since returning to Galway and is looking forward to the next two weeks in South Africa, having featured in four matches at the World Cup.
“We had the three weeks fully off and I enjoyed that time, I suppose to let the body heal up and on the mental side to get really refreshed,” Bealham explained.
“I got away with my wife Sarah for a while and spent some quality time and it was so valuable to get away, to get off the beaten track and refresh mentally and physically and come in now bouncing and ready to get back on the horse.
“It was my first time going to a World Cup and it was an unbelievable experience. It was something else. Obviously it ended pretty bittersweet but that’s the way it goes unfortunately. It was a really good experience.
“I came back last week for a training week and Monday felt like a first day at school, meeting everyone for the first time and getting back into the swing of things. I was on a S&C type thing for the week where they integrated me back in slowly and it was nice getting the body ready to go again and am looking forward now to a couple of weeks in South Africa.”
Most of Bealham’s caps — 28 out of 36 — have come off the bench, while with Connacht it is the other way round, starting 130 of the 189 games he has played for the province. But Bealham believes that one role is as important as the other in the modern game with most front rows being replaced towards the end of the third quarter.
“I believe both front rows are equally important, the one that starts and the one that comes on,” he added.
“I have been on the bench a lot more than I have started with Ireland but I always felt the role I had coming on was really important. More often than not those big games are really tight and you have to navigate your way through the end game.
“I have been fortunate enough to start as well in some big games and get a good feel for that, but hopefully stay involved and be part of the Ireland set-up. It’s a different role with Connacht.
“Obviously on the bench you could come one in the first minute or the 79th, you just never know what will happen and you have to be ready for it. On the bench you can get a good look on how things are going and get a gauge on where the game is at and you can influence things when you come on as opposed to when you start. Both roles are equally important.”
Bealaham could have another to play in South Africa. Connacht have brought just looseheads — Denis Buckley and Peter Dooley — and Bealham, who has been capped as loosehead having played there earlier in his career, is ready for the task if needed.
“I haven’t been told but if the sh*t hits the fan and one of the looseheads goes down, someone has got to do it and I wouldn’t mind doing it. I like a challenge! I’ve played there before,” he said.
Bealham said there can be huge value in the South African tours for teams and he believes they can develop as a squad aside from how they get on against the Sharks and the Bulls.
“I know the results didn’t go our way when we headed out there early last season but I thought the group really connected and that’s really valuable and it helped us,” he added.
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