Who is Tadhg Beirne: Ten things you should know about the Ireland forward

Tadhg Beirne, who can play across the back five of the pack, had to bide his time to make his mark on the professional game and was 26 when he made his Ireland debut. There are plenty more details to learn about him…

Ten things you should know about Tadhg Beirne 

1. Born in Eadestown, Kildare in Ireland on 8 January 1992, Beirne weighs 17st 8lb (113kg) and is 6ft 6in (198cm) tall.

2. His sister, Alannah Beirne, is a TV personality and fashion model. Their mother, Brenda Hyland, was crowned the Rose of Tralee in 1983.

3. Part of the Ireland U20 team that finished sixth in the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship, Beirne then played for the Ireland Sevens team in 2015. However, he had to wait another three years before his first senior cap when Ireland toured Australia in 2018.

4. At 23, Beirne made his senior debut for Leinster against Cardiff Blues in 2015. The majority of the time beforehand he had played for Leinster’s A team and when he wasn’t offered a new contract he considered giving up rugby to do a masters in real estate.

Related: The remarkable story of Tadhg Beirne

5. Instead, the Scarlets signed Beirne in the summer of 2016 and he made his debut in the opening game of the season. He enjoyed a successful season at the Welsh region and was part of the team that won the 2017 Pro12 final, scoring a try in the 46-22 victory against Munster.

6. In October 2017, Munster announced that Beirne would join the province for the 2018-19 season. Before leaving the Scarlets, he was named 2017-18 Pro14 Players’ Player of the Season.

7. In Beirne’s Champions Cup debut for Munster, he earned the Man of the Match award against Exeter Chiefs before earning the same accolade later in the pool stage against Leinster and the reverse fixture against Exeter.

8. He made his first start for Ireland against Italy in November 2018. He also scored his first Test tries in that match, crossing for a double.

He was part of Ireland’s 2019 World Cup squad and started in all of their 2021 Six Nations matches, moving between lock and back-row. He was named Man of the Match against Italy and Scotland, and was nominated for the Player of the Championship award.

9. Beirne earned successive Pro14 Dream Team nominations in 2017-18 and 2018-19, playing for Scarlets and then Munster.

10. Despite being so tall, he is known for his jackling ability and often tops the turnover charts. He says: “Being tall, you need to have your technique pretty spot-on and it’s getting better.”

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