Tadhg Beirne speedy return to form eases Munster's second row woes

The return of Tadhg Beirne to the Munster starting XV was timely to say the least with the Irish International's return from an eight-month layoff coming just a week after Munster lost their star signing RG Snyman to a torn ACL injury just seven minutes into his debut.

Beirne wasted no time settling in as he stormed to a man of the match performance against Connacht - his first start since fracturing his ankle against Saracens last December.

Munster boss Johann van Graan was full of praise for the 28-year-old in the post-match press conference saying “Tadhg really played well”.

Before adding that he "felt it was a good performance from him and Fineen [Wycherley] and Billy [Holland] coming on to close out the game. That’s the good thing about a quality squad, you need a squad."

Van Graan said that “It would have been great to have RG play with these guys but that’s the landscape for the next few months. We’re very happy with the performance of Tadhg and it’s good that we’ve got three locks who have played really well.”

The Munster boss wasn't the only one that Beirne impressed with Gordon D’Arcy and Munster legend Peter Stringer signing his praises on eir Sport.

‘Eight months [he’s been out]. It’s incredible’, Stringer said. ‘We know the threat he has. He’s so good; his body positioning is really, really good. He’s just so athletic.

‘He’s a playmaker as well as a carrier, and it’s his work rate around the field as well. He’s capable of making that break and having that spatial awareness around him.’

‘He’s a real all-round player; a real hybrid player.’

Stringer is not wrong in labelling Beirne a hybrid player with the Munster lock impressing in a number of different facets of the game against Connacht.

His first impact on the game came inside the first two minutes as he won Munster's first penalty of the game as well as his first turnover.

He stayed on his feet and pilfered over Tiernan O'Halloran along with Jeremy Loughman and CJ Stander.

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By the 35th minute, Connacht were already down two men creating a number of gaps in their defence. 

While this does make it easier for the attack to break through, players still need to identify those gaps and take advantage of them. Beirne did this well before the break and in the lead up to Jeremey Loughman's try.

Munster attack with the advantage from the scrum on the far side of the pitch as Shane Daly takes it into contact. While running across the pitch, Beirne spots the gap and adjusts his line for Conor Murray to put him through the gap.

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After returning to the pitch in the second half having spent ten minutes in the sin bin after multiple penalties against Munster, Beirne ran another excellent line - this time it resulted in a try with Murry producing another excellent pass.

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The second-rower also showed off his athleticism in the build-up to the try of the game.

He ran a good support line and kept up with Chris Farrell who made the break and was able to get the ball off to de Allende to provide the assist.

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Beirne received the ball 10 times against Connacht carrying half the time and passing the other five times. 

Ireland legend Gordan D’Arcy, like Stringer, commented on Beirne's ability to shift saying ‘What we’re seeing with Tadhg he’s actually taking two or three steps but still delivering that pass,’ 

‘That disrupts whole defence lines. It adds such a new dimension to what Munster can do and will be doing next week [against Leinster].’