IRELAND BOSS ANDY Farrell isn’t in the position where he can pick up the phone and summon a readymade Test tighthead prop when there are a couple of injuries.

Tadhg Furlong remains sidelined with a hamstring issue, while Tom O’Toole was ruled out of tomorrow’s clash with Argentina due to concussion, so Finlay Bealham is the only fit tighthead in Ireland’s 35-man squad for these November Tests.

Fortunately, Farrell included Leinster man Thomas Clarkson as one of five ‘training panellists’ for this window, so he can call on someone who has been in camp since they gathered two and a half weeks ago.

Still, it’s quite the sudden step up for 24-year-old Clarkson to go straight onto the Ireland bench for tomorrow’s meeting with the Pumas.

Clarkson has had a good 18 months or so with Leinster, showing clear signs of progress and using last summer to seemingly add more size to his 6ft frame. He was particularly impressive off the bench for Leinster against Munster at Croke Park a month ago, initially playing in the back row before moving to tighthead.

And yet, he hasn’t often been part of Leinster’s frontline matchday 23 in recent years. He has only played one Champions Cup game for his province so far, starting against Sale last season. Clarkson has had just one knock-out appearance for Leinster, playing 10 minutes off the bench when they lost to Munster in the URC semi-final in 2023.

The former Blackrock College student was a key part of the Ireland U20s side that won a Grand Slam in 2019 but like most young players in Irish rugby, he has had to be patient in his province since then. He will turn 25 in three months, so he’s certainly no kid.

Anyone who has watched him playing in the URC can see that Clarkson, who went on the Emerging Ireland tour in 2022, has been improving steadily but there’s no doubt it would have been beneficial to get more big-game exposure with Leinster before making his Test debut. 

Clarkson during the Emerging Ireland tour in 2022. Steve Haag / INPHO Steve Haag / INPHO / INPHO

Herein lies a curious reality of the Irish rugby system. The tight funnel means players have to be very good to break through, but talented youngsters can find it hard to come by chances.

Farrell would obviously have liked to have Furlong and O’Toole fit throughout this window but a test of depth is surely a good thing for Ireland in the long run.

Bealham’s improvement as a Test player has been a success story for Ireland in the last couple of seasons, with the Connacht man closing the gap to first-choice Furlong. 26-year-old O’Toole has also developed well and just wants more opportunities. It was cruel that he was forced off last weekend against the All Blacks just a minute after replacing Bealham. O’Toole managed one strong scrum effort and a solid carry even in that time.

But every nation has to consider their depth charts beyond three players. Now Farrell gets a test of his tighthead stocks.

You wonder where Farrell would have turned if there had been another unfortunate injury to Bealham or Clarkson. 

Munster’s Oli Jager made his debut in this year’s Six Nations and was on the tour of South Africa in July but is currently sidelined with a neck injury.

Jack Aungier of Connacht, who turns 26 next week, did well on the recent Emerging Ireland tour, which also included 22-year-old Scott Wilson – who has had only four starts for Ulster so far – and Ronan Foxe, 21, who made his Munster debut off the bench last month.

Munster’s 36-year-old pair John Ryan and Stephen Archer have previously played for Ireland but haven’t been in the picture under Farrell, while Roman Salanoa – who was with the Ireland squad during the 2023 Six Nations – is still out with a long-term knee injury.

Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty with Andy Farrell. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

23-year-old Sam Illo has started only one game for Connacht so far, while 21-year-old academy prop Fiachna Barrett has been playing most of his rugby with Corinthians in Division 2A of the AIL.

Ulster’s Marty Moore – a two-time Six Nations winner – recently retired, while Leinster’s other Irish tightheads - Rory McGuire and Andrew Sparrow – are both in the academy. 

The reality is that if Bealham or Clarkson were unlucky enough to be injured in today’s captain’s run, there’s a good chance Farrell would ask Cian Healy to cover tighthead and bring uncapped 22-year-old loosehead Jack Boyle onto the bench.

With all of that in mind, it’s a good thing that Clarkson is getting exposure to Ireland camp and Test rugby, with Farrell agreeing that it’s an area where they need to build their depth.

“It is,” said Farrell yesterday.

“You know, you think you’re going OK in regards to most positions… hooker would be a position where we thought we had a bit of strength, but like tighthead or loosehead, you’re one or two injuries down and you’re having a look at the depth chart.

“So it’s perfect for Tom because he gets to test himself. The reason why we took him and Jack Boyle [as training panellists] as well is because of the game time and the improvement that we’ve seen within that game time this year.

“And every time we take development players away, we judge them on the here and now, and hope that we can fast-track them as soon as we possibly can.

“Now obviously there are a few injuries that happened but we’ve been really impressed, really impressed, with his form and how he’s trained as well.

“We’ve had him before on the Emerging tour and it’s come at the right time for him and for us, I would have thought.”