No glamour in Georgia? For Ireland's supporting cast, this is Broadway

Finlay Bealham and Stuart McCloskey are competing for places against Georgia

ON THE CUSP: Finlay Bealham has featured off the bench against Wales and England the last two weeks. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Georgia at an empty Aviva Stadium at the back end of November won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but it is the sort of occasion that pushed Finlay Bealham that bit harder as he rehabbed an ankle injury during the first lockdown.

The Connacht prop has featured off the bench against Wales and England the last two weeks but the visit of a nation still labouring under the unedifying ‘Tier Two’ tag was always likely to be the type of fixture where greater chunks of game time could be banked.