Tom Ahern keeps finding new ways to lift his game

Munster's Thomas Ahern. The 6ft 9ins second row emerged from the academy last summer with the pace of a back and the experience of a successful Ireland U20 campaign that was prematurely halted by the Covid shutdown in 2020.

When you are a young Munster lock, the long shadows of former greats are always towering over you but Tom Ahern appears to be embracing the knowledge of heroes past and present in his efforts to make a mark in the Reds’ second row.

Whether it is the advice offered by Paul O’Connell during a week in Ireland’s Six Nations training camp earlier this year, to the technical lineout detail imparted by Billy Holland or the current set-piece think tank populated by Tadhg Beirne and Fineen Wycherley, the 22-year-old from Waterford is welcoming the opportunity to enhance his game and contribute to the Munster cause.