'Be yourself as much as you can' - Finlay Bealham embracing the 'weirdness' as he nears 50 caps

Just as they did two years ago, Ireland come into the Guinness Six Nations with Tadhg Furlong sidelined by a calf injury.

The Leinster tighthead's loss is still significant for Simon Easterby’s side, but there is now a far greater belief in Ireland’s ability to cope without him, in large part down to Finlay Bealham’s performances in that 2023 Grand Slam campaign.

The Connacht prop only played two and a half games before an MCL injury against Italy saw him miss the title run in - by which point Furlong was fit to return – but his performances in those games against Wales, France and Italy were enough for him to be named in the team of the tournament.

Fast forward to the present day, and Bealham (below) is now locked into Ireland’s matchday squad. He started all four games of the Autumn Nations Series in Furlong’s absence and there was no question of his starting position once the Leinster man was ruled out of the opener against England earlier this week.

He’ll win his 47th cap today at the Aviva Stadium, and has spent the last week imparting that experience to the squad’s two rookie tightheads, Thomas Clarkson and Jack Aungier.

"I'm the kinda father, the older man of the group," the 33-year-old says of his role in camp this week.

"We've got the two young lads, Jack and Tommy, and they're both doing really well.

"I see Jack playing every week with Connacht and then playing with Tom in the autumn, both of them are serious prospects. I'm obviously going to say this but tighthead is a pretty important position and to see them both doing well is unreal."

The lack of experience beneath Furlong (32) and Bealham (33) is an obvious talking point in Irish rugby at the moment, with no candidate yet to break into their monopoly of the 3 and