Tadhg Beirne didn’t express any emotion when he uttered the words but the suggestion was that the Munster and Ireland lock was mildly fascinated by Lions captain Maro Itoje.
“I’m very impressed, he speaks incredibly well. He doesn’t curse,” said Beirne.
There is not much Itoje doesn’t do but not swearing on a Lions tour may well be a first and well, there’s a long way to go.
Still Beirne expressed excitement that he will start with the England captain against Argentina on Friday night at the Aviva Stadium, hoping that their stint in Portugal and the last number of days in Ireland will have given them some cohesion for the first examination.
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Cohesion came up several times. But Beirne is confident that the rugby IQ within the squad and the innate ability of the players will overcome any cohesive shortcomings they might have from being together for such a short time.
“Yeah, but you’re talking about world-class players here. We’re talking about the best of the best,” said Beirne.
“The expectation we would have of each other is that you can adapt to any system you’re given and that’s the challenge laid in front of us. That’s the challenge of being a Lion.
“Every four years there’s going to be a new system, the coach is going to want to play a certain way and if you want to be a Lion, you’re going to have to adapt, or you’ll get left behind.
“I would say if you came in here thinking that you could just play your club system or your country system, then you’re probably already at a loss.”
Argentina under coach Felipe Contepomi have both the advantage of knowing their system and the coach having a deep knowledge of the Irish players, having left the Leinster backs coaching job for Argentina at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.
“I think everyone comes into these things with a massive open mind and looking forward to getting to play these new systems and eager to learn,” said Beirne.
“If you’re not floating ideas of players in your position, you’re already at a loss as well. We’re in such a privileged position to come into these environments and learn from one another and get better as rugby players. Adaptation is a big part of that. We all want to be on the same page.
“I think that’s what we’ll be chasing is, that cohesion and connection.”
Beirne believes his own game has evolved since he played with the Lions in the Covid-hit South African tour of 2021. Playing like a blindside flanker more than secondrow, it was still enough to earn him two Lions caps.
In his non-Test debut for the Lions, Beirne scored a try in their 28–10 warm-up victory against Japan. He made his Lions debut as a replacement in the first Test win over the Springboks and came on again in the second Test, which was won by South Africa. But he didn’t play in the third Test, which the Lions lost.
“If anything, I’ve probably become more settled in the secondrow over the last couple of months, particularly with Munster,” said Beirne.
“I like to think, or I’ve convinced myself anyway, that my game has improved a bit over the last four years, just in terms of understanding the game and being a smarter rugby player. And particularly in the secondrow, because I’ve been playing there a lot more, what’s expected of me in that role, whether it be for Munster or Ireland. I’ve definitely got a better understanding of it.”
During the Six Nations, Beirne spoke to Jack Conan about the weirdness of the Warren Gatland-led last tour, the result of which was that players didn’t get the full Lions experience with a disrupted schedule and matches played in empty stadiums.
Although not yet sold out, a big crowd is still expected to turn out at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night. And with Finlay Bealham and Bundee Aki starting alongside him and three more Irish players ‐ Rónan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong and Mack Hansen ‐ hopeful to be sprung from the bench, it will be far from the Covid experience.
“Me and Jack Conan had spoken about it very briefly, So when we both got the name called out, that’s what I was thinking in my head, that we’re going to get the actual experience of what the Lions is actually meant to be about, full crowds, having the fans come over, experiencing that wave of red coming into each city and I’m really, really excited about it.”
