Bealham bounces back for another Irish casting call

Among the 23 to be granted auditions against the USA tomorrow will be Finlay Bealham.

The Connacht tighthead has been cast in productions with the national team eight times before but it is June of last year since he wore this shade of green and he needed to learn some new lines before Joe Schmidt gave him another part.

Seven of those eight caps came in a nine-month spell in 2016. He was sprung from the bench in games against South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand (twice).

He was on the pitch when the final whistle sounded in Chicago against the All Blacks.

He’d made it. And then he hadn’t.

Injury, as always, played its part in loosening the ties that bound him to the national set-up.

A knee problem last January was particularly unfortunate given its timing but he understood that there were other factors in missing out on a Grand Slam and a series win in Australia.

“It was difficult,” he said yesterday. “I had been involved in some big games and then I was out for a while.

I had to look myself in the mirror and just think, ‘right, how am I going to get back in there’ and make a plan for myself for the next 18 months or so.

His weight — he was clocking in at 124 kilograms at one point — was clearly holding him back.

He was doing okay in the scrum but felt his “bounce” had been lost around the pitch.

And he is honest enough to admit that the excess weight wasn’t even “good” weight.

“I was a bit heavier around the midriff. I have slimmed down a lot.”

Somewhere between six and seven kilos have been shed and he’s all the better for it.

Lighter on his feet, Bealham has managed to maintain his impact in the scrum while providing more in open play.

None of what he has done to get back here has been revolutionary.

Faster cardio has helped shed the bad weight and a more considered approach to his diet has done the rest.

Other small changes have played their part too: among them the extra time he spends analysing his own performance and those of other teams.

Twenty-two minutes off the bench against Italy in Soldier Field earlier this month was his initial reward in an Irish context and he will make just his second start for his country tomorrow with John Ryan replacing him at some point after the interval.

Quite the change for a man who didn’t get a call from Schmidt last February, even when Tadhg Furlong was injured for the game against Wales.

Andrew Porter and Ryan filled the breach that day and only three tightheads will go to Japan.

Schmidt admitted yesterday how, for all the depth available to him, he is still undecided about some positions.

This is one of them so tomorrow is a golden opportunity for the likes of Bealham and Ryan before the regulars return next February.

“I’m really grateful for the chance and for the trust from the coaches to get the start. I’m absolutely thrilled. Just doing the basics well will be really big for me.

"Just scrummaging, my lineout and maul work and then being effective around the field. Sticking to the systems we have. Just fitting in.”

A quietly-spoken type he may be, but it’s clear what it all means to him. It’s two years since he last played at the Aviva — “it has been a while between drinks” — and now his patience and perseverance is to be rewarded.

"There were four games announced in the November series and when I was named in the squad I knew I would potentially get a game.

"You are always biding your time and, having not been involved against Argentina and New Zealand, I felt I could add to it in training.

“Sometimes I was running out as Owen Franks and my thought was, ‘okay, I have to do that role really well’.

"I just had to bide my time and now that I have been named this week I have just got to take the opportunity with both hands. I can’t wait.”