Beirne and Itoje are looking like a lock for the Lions
FAST forward to the summer of 2025. British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell is sitting in a hotel lounge with his backroom team a days out from the opening Test against Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies.
There are sure to be many selection debates on the evening in question. The chat about the composition of the second row should be fairly straight forward, however.
It will be no surprise if Maro Itoje and Tadhg Beirne are packing down together in the second row for that series opener in Oz.
Who would you pick ahead of them? Joe McCarthy should be in the mix. James Ryan may have rediscovered his mojo by then. Ollie Chessum has a lot of admirers. Scotland have a few decent prospects. Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins has a high ceiling.
But Itoje and Beirne stand alone. In terms of influence, skill and workrate, few locks can match what they bring.
Itoje has been a force of nature since he burst onto the scene in 2016. The Saracens forward almost single-handedly redefined the role of a modern day lock. Few locks had his engine. Itjoe was a pest for the opposition as well. A handful, in every sense of the word. He surged through the ranks and looked comfortable at the top level from the very beginning. He is on course to become a Test centurion by the time he reaches his early 30s, a staggering innings for such an attritional position.
Beirne’s scenic route to the top level was a well-worn tale at this stage. The Munster lock is thriving these days, taking on the added responsibility of the captaincy with his province and lineout calling on national duty.
WHAT really sets him apart is his innate feel for the game. Beirne has a unique sense of timing and being in the right place at the right time.
His breakdown work is also top class. How many times have we seen that blue scrum cap burrowed at the bottom of a ruck before the shrill of the referee’s whistle and a penalty in Munster or Ireland’s favour arriving soon after.
Beirne also has an uncanny knack of changing the momentum in big games. Recall that frantic final quarter in Wellington when Ireland were under the pump. The All Blacks were in the ascendancy and a famous series victory was hanging in the balance. Beirne delivered three turnovers to lift the siege. Ireland simply wouldn’t have won that series without him. Beirne has the respect and admiration of the Kiwis after his tour de force on that tour.
Itoje is rated highly in that part of the world as well. His greatest performance was undoubtedly the World Cup semi-final when a rampant England laid waste to the All Blacks. Itoje was a menace on the night and out-played Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock.
He has not quite hit those heights in recent times. Indeed, Itoje even drew a bit of criticism for some below par displays last season.
The 29-year-old offered some perspective on his supposed lack of form, citing an ‘underlying health issue which had been affecting his energy levels for a lot of 2023.
‘I guess over the last year or so there have been things which have probably affected my conditioning, which has resulted in me being perhaps a little less energised,’ he revealed in October.
‘There have been injury bits, a few niggles, a few things that I’ve had ongoing which I didn’t know were ongoing. It was some health things behind, which I know have had an impact.
‘Due to how I was feeling it probably wasn’t the quality of what I would expect for myself. All of that has kind of been resolved over the last three weeks. I’m now in, I think, a much better position.’
He looked more like his old self during England’s charge to the World Cup semi-finals. He hasn’t quite hit top gear in this championship but Itoje is due a big game and the presence of all-conquering Ireland at Twickenham may just bring out the best in England’s star forward.
As always, Beirne will be in the thick of it. He has been lauded for his superb displays during Ireland’s brilliant start to this Six Nations campaign. He is delivering big moments, on both sides of the ball. ‘He’s such a good rugby brain. He’s got real smarts about him,’ defence coach Simon Easterby noted recently.
‘He’s tough and just the sort of player in your team that is looked upon as a real source of inspiration and a real standard bearer in terms of performances.’
This evening, Beirne faces a formidable foe.
Itoje will be thinking the exact same thing. And the prospect of the pair working in tandem will be keeping Schmidt awake long before the Lions arrive next year.