One man’s misfortune could lead to another’s Ireland debut.
Donnacha Ryan is set to miss the Guinness Series in November so Ireland coach Joe Schmidt will be spared any tough call, there, on selecting a foreign-based player for the national team.
However, with Tadhg Beirne turning down a ‘very good offer’ from Scarlets in favour of a return to Ireland, Schmidt has another big decision looming.
Scarlets head coach Wayne Pivac has already accepted that Beirne is returning to Ireland next summer, although he has kept his cards close to his chest on the destination of the Kildare native’s next club.
It was reported, as far back as August, that Munster had lined Beirne up for a switch. SportsJOE understands that the move to Munster should be confirmed soon [UPDATE: It was confirmed at 12:15pm on Tuesday, October 3].
Contract Update | Tadhg Beirne will join the province at the start of the 2018/19 season on a two-year contract: https://t.co/hAycsJk5N5 pic.twitter.com/VbiT7WnGm9
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) October 3, 2017
Pivac has praised Beirne’s engine, work-rate, aerial abilities, his versatility [he can play lock and flanker] and noted that his handling and passing has improved no end in the past 16 months, since his switch from Leinster. The Kiwi also raved about the 25-year-old’s breakdown work.
A glance at the Opta stats for the current Guinness PRO14 season shows Beirne leading the way for turnovers. He stands on 13 after five games [four starts] with Carlo Canna and Michael Willemse closest to him, on seven apiece. The nearest Irish player is Josh van der Flier [5].
Beirne seals it!
🏉 The forward makes sure of a @scarlets_rugby victory
📱 LIVE: https://t.co/6BRjuvIPwj pic.twitter.com/qRSLW3zhvX
— BBC ScrumV (@BBCScrumV) September 29, 2017
Scarlets have Toulon [away] and Bath [home] in their first two Champions Cup outings. Another couple of impactful performances and Beirne could force himself into the Test reckoning.
“I suppose the question on him at international level is would he be big enough?” Pivac mused in an interview with The42. “Look, I just hope he gets the opportunity to do that as he’s desperate to do that. I hope he does get the opportunity and we’ll know the answer to the question.”
At present, following on from the summer internationals, Ireland have five locks that will be hoping to be involved in the November Tests. Devin Toner and Iain Henderson would be the presumptive Ireland second row to face South Africa.
That would leaving Ultan Dillane vying with recent debutants James Ryan and Kieran Treadwell for a back-up role but it would be great to see Beirne included in the squad. The World Cup is only two years away and Beirne will hopefully well established in the Munster pack by then.
It is crucial for a cup ambitions to get him up to speed with how everything works within the Ireland camp. The fact that he is heading back to Ireland should navigate any issues about messages being sent out to players about guys playing abroad getting the nod for Ireland.
The former Leinster lock is looking in top form after finally shaking off injury niggles and having found a home at Scarlets. The Welsh region are not inclined to release him for training duties as early as the provinces but getting the PRO14’s in-form lock into Ireland camp as soon as possible makes all the sense in the world.
