Bealham hopeful festive form can lead to big things
CONNACHT prop Finlay Bealham is hopeful that an impressive series of performances over the festive period will see him included in the Ireland squad for the defence of the Six Nations.
The 27-year-old ended an 18month exile from the national squad when Joe Schmidt drafted him in for the November series. His appearances against Italy and the USA has taken his number of international caps to nine.
Bealham hadn’t featured for Ireland since playing against Japan in the summer tour of 2017 but having got a taste of it again, the Australian-born tighthead is keen for more.
‘It was about 18 months since I was last involved in the Ireland squad. It was a really great experience for me to get back in the squad and get two games over that November period. ‘I thoroughly enjoyed the four weeks working with all of the coaches and players. I learned a lot from it. There are some big games coming up now and hopefully I can find a bit of form and put myself in the conversation for Six Nations selection.
‘It was a good November series for the squad. We had a great week in Chicago and then two great weeks against Argentina and New Zealand and then finished it off against USA. ‘Even though I didn’t play Argentina or New Zealand, to watch the way the lads fronted up in both of those games and delivered the game plans I had seen on the pitch during the week, to see that come to fruition on game day, was really good. I obviously really enjoyed getting two caps there as well,’ he said. Bealham’s priority now is performing for Connacht, starting with the back-to-back Challenge Cup clashes with Perpignan. He then heads into three festive derby encounters which present a great opportunity to stake a claim in Schmidt’s plans for his final Six Nations campaign. Bealham was delighted to get back into the Irish set-up and, inevitably, it took a bit of adjusting after being out of the international scene for a year and a half.
‘There were a few new things, as you would expect after 18 months, it definitely wasn’t going to be the same. But you just have great people around you. ‘I was working closely with all of the other tightheads and just making sure we were all on the right page. You are transitioning from all of the Connacht calls and you are going up to a different one, with different calls in the Ireland set-up.
‘You learn on the go a bit. I was doing a lot of homework making sure I was comfortable with everything. There is a bit of a transition. But at that level you just have to know your stuff inside out from the get go.’
A key factor in Bealham’s improved displays has centred around getting his body into peak condition and he has worked hard in getting himself into the best possible shape. ‘A few years ago, we really focused on the body weight and stuff like that. I got pretty heavy and felt that in games I was quite lethargic.
‘I wasn’t as dynamic as I would like to be because I was carrying a bit more excess fat. It wasn’t good weight to be honest. I have leaned up a lot taking about five to six kilos off me.
‘I feel like I can contribute more to the team and be more involved. That is probably one of the big things that I have worked on that lifestyle, leaning out a bit and being more dynamic and having a bigger impact on the pitch,’ he added.