When Joe Schmidt named his Ireland Six Nations squad last month it was the omission of Simon Zebo, and not Tadhg Beirne, that raised the most eyebrows.
Zebo had been excluded from Ireland’s November international squad but had seemed to irritate Schmidt with an interview he gave to French publication L’Equipe before Munster’s Champions Cup visit to Racing, in which he said that he couldn’t play in a ‘rigid’ structure like had been operating under the New Zealander.
Schmidt fired back at press conference later that month with some odd comments about Zebo’s form, or seeming lack thereof, but the omission of Scarlets lock Beirne was just as telling, if not as high profile as Zebo’s exclusion.
Beirne would be nominated for the EPCR Player of the Year a week after the Ireland squad announcement, underlining the confusion surrounding his omission, but his exclusion by Joe Schmidt seemed to be down to availability rather than a lack of form.
“It’s a complex one when they’re playing away from Ireland,” said Schmidt on his decision to omit Beirne.
“He’s committed to coming back to Munster next year, which is super and we had a conversation at the start of the season about that happening.
“We had a really good conversation recently too. I think the problem with Tadhg is that with [World Rugby’s] Regulation 9 it’s a camp week this week, but that’s only a three-day camp week. So if we take him to Spain, we’re required to make him back available to Scarlets.
“He’s played around 1350 minutes already this season – our players don’t usually play that much. Now, I had a great chat with Wayne Pivac and they’ve had injuries to Jake Ball and Lewis Rawlins, so that happens in squads sometimes.
“Because he’s so resilient and because he’s played so well – I thought he was huge in the last two games and in the Toulon game particularly – but he’s going to come in and visit us, and we’ll get to catch up again.
“I’ve known Tadhg since he was in Leinster and I think he’s a really committed young man as well. I wouldn’t rule him out completely, but it is complicated.
“It also means that during the Six Nations, [we would have that] backwards and forwards. So if we have those camp weeks or regeneration weeks, where players get a bit of a rest, he’s got to go back and be available to play for Scarlets.
“That intermittent involvement with the squad, particularly when it’s your first involvement, is probably one of the things that just tipped the balance away from him.”
His form, particularly his all action display against Leinster on Saturday, should tip the balance firmly back in Beirne’s favour.
He was absolutely outstanding against Leo Cullen’s side. He was immense at the breakdown. He was taking in line-outs. He showed pace on the outside. He ran good lines. He tried to smash the ball carrier in the tackle.
And he did all of that from blindside flanker, one of four positions he’s covered this season for the Scarlets.
Ireland have some phenomenal second-row options in Devin Toner, James Ryan and Iain Henderson at present, but Beirne is arguably the most in-form out of all four players, an argument that is strongly supported by his EPCR nomination.
With Josh van der Flier and Sean O’Brien both sidelined with injury, Ireland are down to just Peter O’Mahony, Dan Leavy and Jordi Murphy on the side of the scrum.
CJ Stander has covered at blindside flanker in the past for Ireland, but with the Munster number eight firmly embedded at the back of the scrum in the current side, Beirne would surely deserve a spot on the bench given his ability to cover a multitude of positions from second-row to number eight.
If Beirne’s exclusion is based on the amount of minutes he’s played this season and the fact that he would have to go back to the Scarlets during a Six Nations rest week, well then Schmidt has got this selection horribly wrong, as the former Leinster forward demonstrated beyond doubt on Saturday that the added workload this season has had no diminishing effect on his performance.
The more reasonable explanation for Beirne’s omission is not that he has to go back to the Scarlets, but rather, that he plays for the Scarlets.
Schmidt and the IRFU have been steadfast in their denial of excluding overseas based players as they try and send a zero tolerance message not towards doping, as they have insisted so heavily over the last month, but rather player migration.
The ‘you have to be playing in Ireland, and your future has to be committed to Ireland’ excuse is a lot more palatable than form or availability from Joe Schmidt, but it’s a defence that he has been reluctant to use for understandable reasons.
Schmidt and the IRFU have to send a message to players that you have to play in Ireland to be considered for Ireland, even though Beirne’s omission is a bit murky considering he has signed on for Munster next season.
His intermittent involvement tipped the balance away from his inclusion in the Irish squad last month, but after his all-round display against Leinster on Saturday, the balance should now look like a wrecking ball about to smash any of the barriers Schmidt has put up to keep the 26-year-old at bay.
Beirne will be back in Irish Rugby next season after agreeing a deal with Munster last year, and while he could see some involvement on Ireland’s summer tour of Australia in June, it’s a travesty that he is playing in the RDS this Saturday when he should be playing at the Aviva next weekend.
