Tadhg aims to bring his good form to Munster
NEW Munster signing Tadhg Beirne says he is ready to adapt his game to suit the Munster way and is determined to bring his superb Scarlets form with him to Limerick. And the former Leinster academy star (26), who was named player of the season in the Pro14, says he is looking forward to being protected by the Irish player welfare plan after a season where he played 30 of Scarlets’ 33 games. The powerful forward has spent the last few weeks acclimatising to his new Limerick surroundings and says he is ready to adapt to what his new outfit need from him. ‘I think no matter what team you go to, whether it’s when I go in with Ireland, Munster or if it was any other club, every team has a different way of playing,’ said Beirne. ‘You have to prove your quality and how you can fit into that system, but also still being able to show your qualities as a rugby player. ‘I think over the last two seasons I’ve had freedom in terms of the ruck and stuff but hopefully I’ll still be able to do that but in a smarter way and just keep improving those parts of my game — that’s the aim anyway.’ Beirne made his Ireland debut during the summer tour of Australia when he came on as a replacement for new clubmate Peter O’Mahony in the second Test against the Wallabies. Ireland coach Joe Schmidt had declined the chance to call him up while he played outside the country, but he is firmly in the running to feature in the World Cup. ‘I was just eager to get on and kind of try and make my mark. That’s all that was going through my head. I came on and did what I had to do and hopefully it was good enough. ‘There was always talk of would I get into any of the camps or whatever, so finally to be involved, especially against a team like Australia, to get my first cap was pretty incredible. ‘Now I’m still looking forward to getting back playing. I don’t think with any player if you’re telling them you can’t play this weekend, it’s what you want to hear. ‘I enjoy playing rugby, it’s why I’m doing it so if I could be out there every week I would be. ‘But I completely understand and judging by how my body felt at the end of last year, being managed would definitely be the smart thing going forward.’