FOUR YEARS AGO, Tadhg Beirne was still in the infancy of his international career. In rugby terms, he wasn’t exactly a spring chicken at the age of 27 but he had only eight caps to his name as Ireland travelled to Japan.
It seemed obvious that Beirne had the ability to be a game-changer for Ireland with his jackaling, mobility, and sheer dog, but that 2019 World Cup came just a little too early for a fella who was a late bloomer when it came to Test rugby.
Beirne had debuted for Ireland in Australia in the summer of 2018, got a couple of caps that November and then, having recovered from a knee injury, was handed a big chance against Wales in the the 2019 Six Nations when he started in the second row.
It was a miserable day for Ireland collectively and it didn’t go well for Beirne individually either. If it was ever in doubt in Joe Schmidt’s mind, he seemed to decide there and then that his first-choice lock pairing was James Ryan and Iain Henderson.
That was the case at the World Cup as Beirne was on the bench for the bigger games against Scotland, Japan, and New Zealand. The Kildare man never really had the impact he’d have hoped for on the big stage. You can imagine a character as determined as Beirne thinking how it would be different next time around.
And so it is, with Beirne heading for the 2023 World Cup as a key player for Ireland. He has become that person under Farrell. Indeed, only five men have played more Test minutes for Ireland in the Farrell era than Beirne. There have been a couple of appearances at blindside flanker in his total 1,789 minutes, but Beirne has predominantly been a force from the second row.
What a force he has been. There were once doubts in some quarters about Beirne having the size and ballast to be a top-level second row. There are much heavier locks around than Beirne, who is listed at 113kg, but he punches harder than most of them.
While Beirne brings a wow factor with his unique skills, it shouldn’t be overlooked that he does his nuts and bolts superbly too.
He can carry in the tight with power, is well capable of hurting people in the tackle, is generally aggressive at the attacking ruck, and loves mixing it in the set-piece. Having taken on leadership of the lineout in Munster, his knowledge of that area has grown hugely, while he is a massive threat on the opposition throw with his reading of the game and leaping power.
Beirne’s superstrength has always been his defensive breakdown work. He doesn’t immediately look like a classic jackal but a combination of technical excellence, his sense of timing, and utter relentlessness make him one of the leading experts in the game. He gave a nice reminder of that with a breakdown penalty after coming off the bench against Italy a few weeks ago.
Beirne is also skillful in possession. He fits the Ireland mould of forwards who can throw a range of passes, be it tip-ons, tip-ins, or sweeps out the back. Beirne reads the game well and he’s also smart at running the kind of lines that preserve space for others. He can even kick the ball well, as a few superb spirals over the years have shown. Beirne is a pure rugby player with a balanced skillset.
As important as all the technical stuff is his mindset. We don’t need to revisit his full story here but Beirne has had to display ceaseless grit to be where he is. The tough times make him better. He has also become a big game player, as most memorably demonstrated with his phenomenal final quarter in Ireland’s third Test win over New Zealand last summer. Without Beirne going to a different dimension, Ireland might have fallen to the All Blacks’ desperate late rescue attempt.
Beirne’s leadership has developed too. He has captained Munster in the absence of Peter O’Mahony and some believe Beirne could take on that role permanently if he’s around when O’Mahony retires. It also appeared that Beirne assumed the Irish leadership when he replaced Iain Henderson against Italy in that warm-up game.
He’s now a 40-cap Ireland international with a brilliant body of work in Test rugby on his CV as he looks towards this World Cup.
He’s paired with Henderson in the second row against Samoa tonight and will enjoy the chance to shake off any little signs of rust that were on display against Italy and England in the first two warm-up games.
It seems certain that Beirne’s role in this World Cup will be far more prominent than was the case four years ago.
- This article was updated at 3.03pm to correct a typo in the sixth paragraph.
