Rise of Welsh rugby’s and how he’s proving
ADAM Beard would have been told all about the incredible challenge of Test rugby – how it represented an entire staircase up from anything he’d experienced before in terms of pace, intensity, skill and physicality.
Last weekend he found himself opposing Eben Etzebeth, a man who has been known to use 75kg (11st 11lb) dumb-bells and who, for the avoidance of doubt, probably isn’t someone who has had sand kicked in his face too often.
But Beard coped, just as he has coped with all the other challenges he has faced on the international stage so far.
Indeed, eight games into his Wales career, he has yet to taste defeat in a Test. It is a remarkable record that few in the history of Welsh international rugby have managed to get even close to.
We assesses the youngster’s progress...
THAT UNBEATEN RECORD
BEARD has been part of victorious Wales sides since his debut off the bench against Samoa in the summer of last year.
It was a quiet start, a long way from home. Nor was there much fanfare when he played against Georgia the following autumn, in a mix-and-match pack who had a bumpy ride against experienced and gnarled opponents, some of who played regularly in the Top 14.
But Gatland kept belief with Beard and the youngster’s breakthrough game came in the opening Test against Argentina in June. The Ospreys lock made 17 tackles and also contributed with ball in hand, showing an appetite for battle and subtle skills to go with it.