Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
FERRARI SUDDENLY IN FAST LANE
Beirne finds his wings as he puts in a display of quality and class in the routing of Italians
A whirlwind week in the life of the Antrim Ferrari.
Eight days ago, Jordan Brown beat Ronnie O’sullivan in the Welsh Open final to win, at 33, his first ever professional snooker event, with the praise of the Rocket ringing in his ears.
He lifted the trophy (right) after claiming the final frame in five of his seven matches.
On Monday he did the media rounds before swapping Celtic Manor for Milton Keynes and a first round Players Championship clash with John Higgins.
While there, he bumped into childhood hero Stephen Hendry in a hotel corridor.
“It’s the first time I ever spoke to him,” Brown told Mirrorsport as he revelled in the encounter.
“He recognised how much of an achievement it was for me. He said, ‘I’m so pleased for you, you played a great deciding frame’.
“I went back to the hotel room doing cartwheels because he was one of my heroes growing up.
I was watching him on the TV since I was five.”
O’sullivan had joined him for breakfast earlier the same day,
“He was just so genuinely happy for me and just wanted to get to know me. We had a good conversation,” Brown recalled.
“I got that vibe from him during Sunday’s match that he liked the way I played and liked me as a person. Ronnie’s not like that around everyone, as we all know. He’s hot and cold.
“But it’s very flattering and so pleasing, coming from him. I couldn’t quite believe that he was saying those words about me, but you know you’re doing something right if he is. I’m soaking it all in but it’s just going to take a while.
“They were my heroes growing up and suddenly these guys are talking to me. Even Mark Williams was chatting away in the practice room. Everyone’s been brilliant, recognising I’ve done something quite special here.”
This was life in the fast lane at last. And then after the spectacular rise came a swift fall.
Higgins, the veteran former world champion, dispatched him 6-0 in the first round on Wednesday evening.
“It was a combination of things,” Brown explained the following day. “He seemed to want to put me on the back foot early, and as the scoreline
worsened it piled on more pressure. but at the same time, it just
“I didn’t show up, really. I was shows how important mental tired from being on such a high health is,” Brown explained. and busy with press, et cetera, “You’re in a hotel room and and it was a proper comedown. don’t have the freedom to go out,
“I’ve spoken to other players you have someone telling you not and it’s very common, especially to do it and it’s scary, really, being for first time winners. stuck there and not It takes a much fun. while to be “It’s important to brought back have that social outlet down to earth, let to keep yourself the dust settle and sane and we can’t go get back to normality.” for a meal with other players, or for a beer.”
It is by now well The events of documented, his Welsh Open week journey from reminded him what full-time petrol he’s in it for and of station worker to a return to the the three people, above all, who pro game he first participated in helped him to make it happen. 11 years ago. His coach, Marty Brantwood,
“So, this is just so surreal,” admitted is a former player who Brown has Brown. “The turning point known since their Fountain was five years ago, I was at rock Centre club days together. bottom but I thought, ‘at least I’m There’s his dad, John, who good at something, I’ve got a has travelled the world with talent here but I might waste it by him and gave him the financial not putting the effort in’.” backing he needed before
He grafted his back into the BMW Ballymena came on board. pro ranks through Q school, then And there’s girlfriend Catherine, reached the World Championship who he asked out in November for the first time last year. 2019 after a chance meeting in Last month, in the German Open, her brother’s restaurant. he made his first quarter-final. “When I first met her, she
It has all happened at the right asked what I did for a living. I said time. Before his win, he was I play snooker, and she goes, ‘well, having doubts about whether to what do you actually do?’ She continue. His love of snooker had obviously now understands. She’s not diminished but life on tour in my absolute rock.”
Covid times was proving relentless, He’s had a taste of the big time and not fun. and wants more.
“I know it sounds silly because “I’ve got the confidence now,” I’m doing what I always Brown stated. “I’ll always know wanted to do that I went the distance before. for a living “Just never give up, when you’re down and out there’s always a way out. I’ve proved that, and hopefully that can inspire others in these difficult times,”
he added.
THIS slow Beirne has caught fire at Test level – the burning question is if Andy Farrell’s Ireland are now doing the same.
It has taken time for Tadhg Beirne to get to grips with life in the international fast lane, having first been called into the Ireland squad in 2018.
But he has ignited in this Six Nations. Munster’s poacher supreme was outstanding in the opening defeats to Wales and France, and again on Saturday in Rome, having been moved from the second row to the back row.
Though he did joke his TV man of the match award may have been a case of mistaken identity given one of his back row colleagues also wore a blue helmet.
“It’s a great honour,” said Beirne. “It’s a special moment for me.
“But I was quite surprised to walk off the field with it because there were a number of very good performances.
“I was slagging Will Connors, saying, ‘They must have thought I was you half the time’, with the number of tackles he made – he scored two tries as well.
“They were picking holes, making great decisions so within the team there were a lot of brilliant individual performances.”
There were certainly a number all right, with Robbie Henshaw and Johnny Sexton among them, though Farrell and his players will focus on the disparity between the freeflowing attack of the first half and a scrappy second half performance.
Both halves yielded three tries up but the quality of the opposition must also be taken in account – Italy were very poor.
Irish fans have been waiting for a year and more for the Farrell era to ignite and while beating the Azzurri is to be expected, those supporters will hope it is the turning point.
The final two games of the Six Nations, away to Scotland on March 7 and then at home to England six days later, will provide further evidence for or against.
But in scoring six tries in Rome, Ireland finally let loose in attack. It’s definitely something that’s always been there,” argued Beirne. We’ve been kind of waiting. We’re just trying to tweak things as we go. Sometimes it was just not working for us.
“Faz has really been putting a massive focus on our attack since we came into this camp, looking at how we can improve and what we need to improve on.
“The more games we have played, the more we’ve seen what areas that we need to improve – and we have improved in those areas.
“You saw the benefit of those improvements on Saturday. We’re very conscious of the fact that we were doing well but not finishing off with tries.
“We had the same plan in terms of attack so not much has changed.
“Any game in the Six Nations is a difficult game. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves – no-one has lost to Italy this year. A lot of our focus was just getting our first win of the season. We did that. So we’re delighted.”
Beirne took time to get fully up to speed but, like the team in general, perhaps the penny has dropped.
“To get a few back to back games is something I’ve been dying to do,” said the Kildare man.
“To get a bit of momentum is great, the more I play, the more I fit into this system and am able to build on my performances.”
ALUN WYN JONES said Wales are not looking back in anger at their dire autumn campaign.
Instead, to know ‘what’s the story’, the iconic captain insists the pain of 2020 is driving his team to Grand Slam glory.
Wales celebrated their 40-24 hammering of England by belting out the Oasis song Don’t Look Back In Anger, George North leading the changing-room choir at the Principality Stadium after winning his 100th cap.
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac won only three games last year and failed to beat a tier-one side, but his team has risen from the ashes to move within two games of a Six Nations clean sweep.
Pivac’s men only have whipping boys Italy and France – decimated by Covid-19 – to face.
Wales thrashed England to seal a Triple Crown and Jones said: “We came into this competition off the back of a disappointing Autumn Nations Cup, although it was about the strength in depth and giving players an opportunity. We came off a barren bit of form and are taking one game at a time.
“We had a tough autumn and that critique from within has been pretty harsh at times. It’s paying dividends now with the strength and depth we’d like to think we have in the squad.
“That’s been a big driver. We’re not going to shy away from it. We’ve had a bit of luck, but created the majority of our own luck we’d like to think.
“That in-house critique has to be the driver. If we start looking outside the tent, we’ll probably lose focus. I’m proud of the team that we’ve had to be able to do that. Hopefully we continue to.”
Wales have had the rub of the green in their three Championship games so far. In the first two, both Ireland and Scotland lost a man to a red card.
Against England, Wales scored two controversial first-half tries through Josh Adams and Liam Williams. French referee Pascal Gauzere was the villain for those of English persuasion. But Pivac’s men were still deserved winners as two more tries from Kieran Hardy and Cory Hill (below) sealed victory. The nerveless late kicking of Callum Sheedy saw him put the boot into England as Eddie Jones’ men paid the price for their shocking discipline.
Welsh young guns Louis Reeszammit, Sheedy and Hardy were thrown in at the deep end for autumn debuts, but they all starred against England.
Jones said: “It was a baptism of fire in the autumn when those guys got an opportunity. It does go up a notch when you come into the Six Nations, but the composure they have has been welcome.”
Wales now have two weeks to prepare for Italy in Rome – a game they will surely win.
France are likely to be the only team able to stop a Wales Grand Slam on the final weekend, if their players can recover from the Covid-19 outbreak which forced their game with Scotland to be called off.
A jubilant Pivac said: “We won’t be celebrating the oldfashioned way.
“We haven’t really played the house down yet so we’ve well and truly got our feet on the