Updated at 12.19
WHEN YOU GET distracted by where Tadhg Beirne currently stands and marvel at the player he has become, it is easy to forget just how far he has come in such a short space of time.
There may only be a few hundred kilometres between Eadestown and Limerick, but the journey he has travelled to get to this point has been a lot longer, the peaks and troughs on his career chart pronounced and well documented.
Beirne pictured at the Pro14 season launch in Glasgow. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Two seasons at Scarlets couldn’t have gone any better if he had scripted it, Beirne grasping the lifeline handed it to him by Wayne Pivac, who recognised his potential despite Leinster’s decision to disregard the Kildare native in favour of other second rows options.
There was a certain irony to Johnny Sexton joking on Monday evening, shortly after Beirne had been crowed the Pro14 players’ player of the season in Glasgow, that Leinster had poached him back from Munster on social media.
Leinster’s loss was Scarlets’ gain, and now Munster will hope to see the best of Beirne in a red jersey after his return home as the turnover-winning, dynamic ball-carrying and hard-working player he has developed into.
Being recognised by his peers for another outstanding season last term is a reflection of his soaring standing within the game, as was a nomination for the EPCR European player of the year.
“Just honoured,” he says. “That’s probably the word I’d used to describe it.”
And then came Ireland cap number one, closely followed by number two, during the summer tour of Australia, a further indication of just how much his stock has risen in the two years since he was told he had no future at Leinster.
“The tour to Australia was a great experience, something I’ll cherish forever. There had been so much talk about whether I’d get the call-up or not. To make my debut was an unbelievable feeling.”
Now, he’s back home living in Kildare as he settles into life at Munster ahead of the next chapter in a career which has hurtled along at great pace, but often encountered speed bumps along the way.
“In many ways life has changed for me, but in other ways I have come home as well,” Beirne explains.
“I’ve been living at home the last number of weeks which has been nice as well, to be back with family after being away from them for two years. In that respect it has been very enjoyable and I’ve been welcomed incredibly well by the Munster staff and my team-mates.
“It’s different in terms of culture as well — Welsh people do Welsh things and Irish people do Irish things so it’s just getting back into that.”
Beirne made his Ireland debut in Melbourne back in June. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Beirne has found his feet at the southern province quickly on the back of a much-needed, and well deserved, summer break following his exploits over the course of the season with Scarlets, as the Welsh region reached the Pro14 final and last four of the Champions Cup.
An ever-present in Pivac’s pack, Beirne played an exhausting 2,193 minutes between the two competitions, a remarkable workload which had started to take its toll by the final weeks of the campaign and then during Ireland’s trip Down Under.
“Towards the end of the season I was definitely feeling it a lot,” he admits. “Niggles all over the place really. I got to a stage where I was pretty much not lifting any weights and doing the very minimum during the week.
This season will be different, however. Beirne’s return will be managed along with the rest of the internationals and Munster fans are unlikely to see their new signing in action until October.