Tadhg Beirne: 'I felt the pressure. I'm not going to lie. A lot of people calling for my head out there'

Irish Examiner

3 days ago

WHEN the talking stopped, and the debates around selection gave way to the noise of a Test match build-up inside Suncorp Stadium, Andy Farrell knew the players those outside the British & Irish Lions camp may have doubted would perform they way he believed they would.
It was not perfect in any shape or form but the way the Lions dominated Australia during Saturday's first half in Brisbane on their way to a 27-19 victory was confirmation enough that Farrell had got his combinations right.
Flankers Tadhg Beirne and Tom Curry had been selected despite not setting the world alight in the opening skirmishes of this tour against Australia's Super Rugby franchises but their head coach backed them regardless, based on his trust that when it mattered, their experience and ability to raise their performances would come to the fore.
And so it proved, openside Curry's thundering power in the tackle rocking the foundations of prop James Slipper to the core with the first hit of the game, his blindside partner Beirne following up with jackal to win the first penalty of the games after just 14 seconds.
Less than a minute later Finn Russell had opened the scoring and the Lions were up and running, first taking a 10-0 lead and then leading 17-5 at half-time. By the 42nd minute, Curry had perfectly read the Wallabies' overthrown lineout to meet the ball on the run and spark the superbly executed transition attack that led to Dan Sheehan's try which killed the game off there and then, Russell's touchline conversion sending the tourists into a 24-5 lead.
SWEET FEELING: Beirne shows off his Player of the Match medal from Brisbane's first test.
'You see it time and time again,' Farrell said. 'When it really matters, big game players, that's what they do, they turn up, they trust themselves to be able to perform on the big stage. It's not an easy thing to do, I suppose it comes with a little bit of experience and they deliver it again.
'We have conversations of 'why do you think you're selected' and 'what is it that you're going to bring to the team performance' and to a man they're unbelievably honest. They're men of their word and that's what they delivered.'
Munster captain Beirne, who contributed 23 tackles to the series-opening victory, gave a rare insight into what it feels like to be at the centre of a very public selection debate and the positive impact Farrell had had in those conversations with the back row he had placed his faith in, also including his Ireland team-mate and No.8 Jack Conan.
'It was right up there,' Beirne said. 'I felt the pressure. I'm not going to lie, I did feel the pressure this week. There are some things you can't shy away from.
'A lot of people calling for your head out there. I know my performances to this date weren't up to par by my standards. So to be in this team, Faz has put a lot of trust in me and it was an honour to be selected.
'I had to put in a performance. All of us did. Everyone around me put in great performances and the best part about it was that we were able to make each other look good, particularly for the first half. That last quarter we probably fell off a bit and we will need to look into that to go better.'
Beirne did not reveal what was said by his head coach, save to say that his words helped the back-row unit.
"Look, Andy had a quiet word with the back row, the captains, and he said a few things to us. He put a little bit of pressure on us without putting pressure on us, as Andy does.
'But it gives you motivation and it gives you a little bit of realisation as to where his head's at and the opportunity that's being presented to us. So those words certainly sat with me for the 24 hours leading up to the game.
'I knew how important this game was and not just because of what he said, but it's also a massively important game because each week is the biggest game of your career on these tours.
'I'm 33 now, I'm not going to be on another Lions tour, let's be realistic, so these are special moments. These are huge games and I want to be involved in all of them, so I knew how important this game was and hopefully I've done enough to help this team win and hopefully be selected next week."
FAMILY AFFAIR: Tadhg Beirne is reunited with his sister and family down under. Pic: Alannah Beirne/Instagram
It sounds a little out of kilter to hear a Lions Test man of the match say he could not be certain of his place in this Saturday's team to take the field at the Melbourne Cricket Ground but Beirne understands he is in rarefied air on this tour with the players Farrell has brought to Australia.
"That's the thing about the Lions. Any man next up has more than earned their spot. There's been incredible performances in the lead-up to these Tests.
'If I'd have gone down with an injury, Chess (Ollie Chessum) would have went into six, no-one would have batted an eyelid there, not 'oh no, Tadhg's out', do you know what I mean? It would have been like 'great, Chess is in'.
'So that's the tour we're in. These guys, everyone's gunning for a position here and everyone's worthy of a position here. The responsibility's on us to try and keep our positions.'
Despite the hothouse environment, Beirne has been able to absorb the points of difference a Lions tour creates and as a veteran of the 2021 'Covid' tour to South Africa when his two Test appearances off the bench alongside starters Curry and Conan were in the empty concrete void of the Cape Town Stadium, he is relishing 'proper touring' to coin a Farrell phrase, particularly with so many of his nearest and dearest able to finally watch him play for the Lions inside Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night. There were 10 family members in the stands, including his three sisters, all of whom live in Australia, one in Adelaide, another close to Brisbane on the Gold Coast and the Sydney-based Jennifer, whose birthday was on gameday. The juxtaposition with a fanless tour spent in splendid isolation at a resort hotel outside of Cape Town was brought into sharp focus as hordes of Lions jerey-clad supporters flooded into the Queensland city.
'Just the whole experience since we've been here has been so different, so much more enjoyable.
'Getting to walk around today, it was my sister's birthday today so I met up with her quickly for a coffee in the morning and just as we were walking around the place, the amount of Lions jerseys. That sea of red is just incredible to see, the amount of people turning up as the day started getting closer to the game and it's just such a different experience.
'You feel the buzz and it affects you. It affects how you feel going into the game and it affects your motivation, everything. You become more excited, you know, the whole experience of the game and you feel how important it is, how big of an occasion it is. It gets you very excited.'
The feeling was mutual on Saturday night but all the Lions players know they are going to have to up their game at the MCG for the second Test against a Joe Schmidt team that grew into the game after what their head coach described as a 'submissive' first half to prevent the rout that had seemed likely just two minutes into the second half. Yet the Lions were in a similar spot four years ago, winning the opening Test of a rancorous series with the Springboks, only to lose the second two.
Beirne appears to have learned the lessons.
'You can't rest on your laurels at all. You've got to take a big step forward. You've got to elevate your performances.
'If we put in the same performance as we did tonight it probably won't be good enough next week, it's going to have to step up. There's going to be a lot of players back, they're going to be desperate to win.
'So we're going to have to elevate our performance to make sure we bring that up.'