Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WALES v IRELAND GET READY TO FEEL THE BEIRNE
O’mahony warns Welsh they won’t enjoy renewing acquaintances
THE sight of that trademark blue cap on the Principality Stadium pitch will act as a warning siren to Wales tomorrow.
The Welsh know all about Tadhg Beirne after a stellar couple of years with the Scarlets that was the making of him, having previously hit a glass ceiling at Leinster.
Hungry for Ireland recognition, the lock left Wales last summer and picked up where he left off with an outstanding start to his Munster career.
A knee injury in December scuppered his hopes of his first Six Nations involvement in previous rounds, but now the 27-year-old gets his chance to shine in Cardiff, with Iain Henderson ruled out with a knee problem himself.
“Tadhg Beirne has set his own standards over the last two and a half, three years,” said Munster colleague Peter O’mahony (inset). “He’s been incredibly impressive for both the Scarlets and us.
“He gets his shot in the Six Nations and it’s utterly deserved. He’s put in a lot of hard work.
“He’s got a couple of knocks here and there but he’s worked hard over the last few weeks and guys know what he brings and how important he’ll be to us this weekend.
“The other side of it is a lot of these (Welsh) guys have played alongside him and know what he’s about.
“He has the most turnovers in Europe, he’s more than likely up there in the Pro14,” said O’mahony, the only Irishman to have played the full 80 in all four previous games in this campaign.
“His ability going forward, to pick a line, his ball handling skills... he’s a footballer.
“He could probably play across the back row as well, even though I’d certainly rather he didn’t! He’s the complete package.”
The Corkman smiles at the prospect of glimpsing Beirne’s blue cap at the bottom of rucks – where he invariably comes up trumps, winning ball or penalties for his team.
“It’s a huge part of the game and he has it down to a fine art,” he acknowledged.
Beirne will play alongside James Ryan – and it is the Leinster man who will call Ireland’s lineout for the first time, having done so on a couple of occasions for his province. Schmidt is confident about that decision. “He has hugely impressed us,” said the Ireland boss. “He’s studious about the game, he’s incredibly physically committed to delivering what he needs to do.”
O’mahony added: “Any help I can give him, I’ve tried to give to him.
“But he’s a confident young fella, he does his homework and we get our confidence from our training week.
“He’s been excellent all week and we’re all positive about him.
“That’s the first thing you talk about when it comes to leadership in rugby: your actions talk loudest.
“None more so than James Ryan – his actions talk loudest.”