We could yet be see Tadhg Beirne training with Ireland, during the Six Nations, but the Scarlets lock may have to wait for his Test debut.
At today's Six Nations launch, Joe Schmidt will have known the questions on Beirne would have been coming he was prepped for them. Simon Zebo queries too.
Zebo, Schmidt insisted, had not been helped by indifferent form over recent weeks and that the Munster man will have been "frustrated" with his performance in the away defeat to Racing 92. To our mind, Zebo was not in great form over the festive slate of inter-provincial games but he picked it up in Europe.
Of course Zebo, like Beirne, has
definitely not been excluded because he is not 100% committed to Ireland as they head towards the 2019 World Cup. Zebo is heading to Racing this summer while Beirne - advance nominated for European Player of the Year - is currently in Wales but off to Munster next summer.
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Both men would have added to Ireland's Six Nations championship cause but Schmidt and the IRFU are taking a stance. - you're either in or you're out. It would be easier to accept if that is what we were told but, instead, Zebo is in a slump and Beirne is getting flogged to pieces.
Schmidt was queried on Beirne not making Ireland's 2018 Six Nations squad and he laid out the main reasons for it.
- Beirne has played 1,350 minutes this season
- World Rugby's 'Regulation 9' means Beirne would have to return to Scarlets if he had went on Ireland's three-day training camp to Spain
- Beirne being based in Wales for his club rugby makes the situation "complex"
- If selected, Beirne would have been required back at Scarlets during rest or "regeneration" weeks
- The good form of James Ryan and Iain Henderson, in particular, with Devin Toner, Quinn Roux and Ultan Dillane proving their salt. Schmidt also name-dropped Billy Holland and Kieran Treadwell.
Looking at Ireland's second rows that have made the cut this season, Schmidt is correct that Beirne has played more club minutes - Dillane [1,027] leads the way with Toner [965] next, followed by Roux [941] and Henderson [746]. Ryan is down on 371 minutes after missing several weeks through injury.
The fact that Beirne is not in the Test picture, with Ireland, and Scarlets' have had injuries to deal with, the 26-year-old has had a heavy workload. He even lined out at No.8 against Ospreys in December.
Schmidt is well aware of what Beirne can bring to the table, though, and he did offer two crumbs of consolation.
The Ireland coach is open to the idea of Beirne touring to Australia this summer with the national team. Ireland play three Tests against Michael Cheika's men in their final foreign tour before the 2019 World Cup.
Beirne may yet be invited to train with Ireland at Carton House, during the championship. This could get him up to speed for an eventual Test cap, later this year, but he is unlikely to feature in the Six Nations unless there are striking injury issues in the second row.
Australia in the summer now looks the best hope for Beirne but, with Scarlets challenging for trophies on two fronts, he may well have clocked close to 3,000 minutes by May. Schmidt will not like that.
