Tommy Martin: Blessed are the Bealhams, for they shall inherit the earth 

Very few of us are calling the plays or pointing to the posts. Mostly we are holding tackle bags or heaving others into position, small parts of a greater machine

MANNING THE BARRICADES: Finlay Bealham during Ireland rugby squad training at IRFU High Performance Centre at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Let’s hear it for the Finlay Bealhams. Three cheers for the unlikely stars, the unheralded ones, the unexpected saviours. All hail the humble heroes. The boy with the finger in the dyke, the little ships at Dunkirk, Paul Revere riding through the night.

Upon hearing that Tadhg Furlong had been pulled up lame at half-time in Saturday’s win over South Africa, most Irish rugby fans became gripped with a sense of impending doom. After all, no preview of the Springboks’ visit did not have the Leinster tighthead as key to an Irish victory.