Finlay Bealham
| Date of birth | 9 October 1991 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Canberra, Australia | ||
| Height | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). | ||
| Weight | 115 kilograms (18 st 2 lb) | ||
| School | St Edmund's College | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Current status | |||
| Position(s) | Prop | ||
| Current team | Connacht | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Prop | ||
| Amateur clubs | |||
| Years | Club / team | ||
| 2010–2011 2011– |
Belfast Harlequins Galway Corinthians |
||
| Provincial/State sides | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2014– | Connacht | 49 | (0) |
| correct as of 11 March 2016. | |||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 2011 2015– 2016– |
Ireland U20 Emerging Ireland Ireland |
4 2 1 |
(0) (5) (0) |
| correct as of 12 March 2016. | |||
Finlay Bealham (born 1991) is an Australian-born rugby union player. He primarily plays as a prop, and can play at both tighthead and loosehead. Bealham represents Ireland at international level, qualifying to play for them through his grandmother from Enniskillen in Northern Ireland. Bealham currently plays his club rugby for Irish provincial team Connacht Rugby in the Pro12 league.
Early life
Bealham grew up in Canberra and attended St Edmund's College in the city. He played rugby league at a young age before concentrating solely on union. Despite being selected for the Australian schools side, Bealham was not given a spot in the Brumbies academy and instead moved to Ireland to start his career.[1]
Rugby career
Club
Bealham moved to Ireland in 2010 and initially played in his grandmother's native province of Ulster with the amateur side, Belfast Harlequins.[2] Following the 2011 Junior World Cup, he was offered a place in the academy of Connacht, another province. Moving to the new province also meant moving clubs, with Bealham joining Galway Corinthians. Bealham was promoted from the sub-academy to the full academy ahead of the 2012–13 season.[3]
While in the academy Bealham played for the province's second tier side, the Connacht Eagles. Bealham made his debut for Connacht in the 2013–14 Pro12 on 23 February 2014. He came on from the bench away to Italian side Zebre, replacing Denis Buckley at loosehead on the 74 minute mark.[4] Bealham went on to make a further five replacement appearances in the Pro12 that season.[5] In April 2014, it was announced that Bealham had signed a professional contract with the province to last until summer 2015, making him a full member of Connacht's senior squad.[6]
In the 2014–15 season Bealham was moved from loosehead to play tighthead by Connacht forwards coach Dan McFarland.[1] Despite the change, he continued to play regularly for the side, as he had at the end of the previous season. Bealham made his European debut on 6 December 2014, coming on from the bench in the home game to Bayonne in the Challenge Cup pool stages.[7] He made his first start in the reverse fixture the following week.[8] Bealham made his first league start on 26 December 2014 against Ulster.[9] During the course of the season he played 15 games in the 2014–15 Pro12,[5] and made a total of five appearances in the Challenge Cup.[10] He also featured in Connacht's final game of the season, a play-off against Gloucester which they lost 40–32 after extra time.[11] During the course of the season, Bealham signed a new two year deal to keep him with the province until summer 2017.[12]
International
After becoming aware of his qualification to play for Ireland, Bealham became involved in the country's youth set-up through the Irish Exiles program. Having previously represented the Australia Schools 'A' side against New Zealand in 2009, he made his debut for Ireland Under-20s against Italy in the 2011 U20 Six Nations.[13] Later that year, Bealham was part of the Irish squad for the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship.[2] He made a total of four appearances for the side, three of these coming as a replacement.[14]
Bealham was part of the Emerging Ireland squad for the 2015 Tbilisi Cup.[15] He played in two of the team's fixtures, replacing Stephen Archer in the games against Emerging Italy and Georgia, scoring a try in the latter.[16][17]
In January 2016, Bealham was called up to Ireland's squad for the Six Nations to replace the injured Marty Moore.[18] After Cian Healy injured his hamstring, Bealham was promoted to the bench for the game against Italy.[19] On 12 March 2016, 65 minutes into the game, he replaced Jack McGrath for his debut.[20]
References
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