Road less travelled arrives at thrilling destination for James Lowe and Finlay Bealham

There they sat, alongside each other in a decidedly makeshift media room in the Stade de la Vallée du Cher in the city of Tours in western France.

Two 31-year-old Irish internationals who are not your typical Irish rugby players, but their stories are every bit as interesting and celebratory as any of their peers.

Finlay Bealham and James Lowe have long since set down roots and adopted Ireland as their home and are about to embark upon their first World Cup.

As an Australian-born kid growing up in Canberra, naturally, Finlay Bealham supported the Wallabies, his first World Cup memories being 2003.

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“I remember watching the games with my dad, and also the 2007 World Cup,” he says, when the tournament was last held in France. “Me and my old man used to get up and watch the games. So, I suppose to be playing in one a good few years later now, it’s surreal and it’s something that I’m really looking forward to.”

Bealham qualifies for Ireland by dint of his Enniskillen maternal grandmother Sarah, or “Sadie”. Rejected by the ACT Brumbies, he relocated to Ireland only to be rejected by Ulster as well, before his performances in the Under-20 World Cup in Italy in 2011 (Tadhg Furlong and Iain Henderson are the others from that tournament here in Tours) prompted Nigel Carolan to offer him a stint in the Connacht sub-academy.

Corinthians took good care of him, as Belfast Harlequins had done before, and Bealham is now embarking upon his 13th season with the province. So, you ask what it means to him to be representing Ireland in a World Cup after such a journey.

“That’s a good question! I’d say when I arrived initially and playing for the Irish Under-20s, and having the Irish heritage through my mum’s side of the family, I really saw the passion of the people I wanted to represent.

“My nan, who I was extremely close with, I really wanted to represent her and the family, so to get to do that now is a massive honour, not just for myself but for my family and then some of my family who aren’t with us today.”

With that, Lowe nods approvingly and says quietly: “Good answer”.

The New Zealand-born winger may once have shared some of the misgivings held by others about the residency ruling which enabled him to qualify for Ireland, but not any more. Not by a long shot.

For him, 2011 and the All Blacks’ stunning defeat by France in the quarter-finals is his first standout World Cup memory.

“Obviously, New Zealand got knocked out, Waynes Barnes was the ref, it was in Wales or Scotland? Cardiff, yeah. That was probably my first memory [of a World Cup].

“Look,” he quickly adds, unprompted, “I am absolutely stoked to have been given the opportunity to represent Ireland here this year and I’m going to take it with both hands.”

While Bealham has played his entire adult and professional career in Ireland, it’s worth noting that of his 11 seasons playing professionally, this is Lowe’s seventh as Leinster player. No less than Bealham in Connacht, and akin to Jamison Gibson-Park, his Tasman/Maori/Leinster team-mate, Lowe is an altogether different and more complete player now than the gifted but raw 24-year-old who pitched up in Leinster in 2017.

“I took the opportunity to test myself in a new environment and a new country away from the safety net of family and friends,” he said, reflecting on his own journey.

“I didn’t know whether or not I was really capable of it but with my wife and now, with our child, we’ve managed to move over here and really put our roots in the ground. I don’t see us leaving any time soon, that’s for sure, and in terms of the rugby I was fortunate enough to land on my feet at Leinster.

“I think we can all agree that for close to probably a decade now they’ve been very, very good thanks to the success of Stuart Lancaster obviously and now we’re in that sort of transition period moving into a new coach and environment, challenging ourselves again.

“But from where I was when I first came to where I am now, I’m very happy with how that transition’s gone and [i’m] ready to take this Rugby World Cup on.”

Lowe’s wife Arnica gave birth to their first child, Nico, four months ago.

“He’s teething and on my first night at home, every hour on the hour, he’d scream for two minutes and then he’d just go back to sleep. So, man, I love my wife and everything that she’s doing at the moment at home because it ain’t easy.”

Lowe is aware enough to appreciate the provincial rivalries and his own on-field persona do not make him universally popular in his adopted home country.

“I think it’s a love/hate relationship with a lot of people as well. You get outside Dublin and not many people enjoy me.”

Bealham interjected: “I like you James.”

“Thank you. Hey, thanks pal,” responded Lowe, before also admitting: “Yeah, I understand, I wear my heart on my sleeve, I’m passionate about what I do, and I take serious pride in everything that I do. So, I can see how that riles some people up, but I do it out of goodness. I feel I don’t try and wind people up on purpose.

“But our roots are firmly in the ground in Ireland now and if you had said that to me 10 years ago, at the start of my career, that I would be an international rugby player playing for Ireland at my first World Cup I would have told you that you were crazy. So absolutely stoked with how it’s gone.”

Bealham and Sarah, a pharmacist and a Galway girl, married last year. The Connacht tight-head prop told The Irish Times last April: “It’s home now. I’ll be here [Galway] forever.”

Like Lowe, he is due to become a father to an Irish child next February.

“Ever since I came down to Galway and to Connacht back in 2011, a long time ago, immediately there was a strong sense of family, a strong sense of belonging for me.

“Fast forward a few years and now I’m married. My wife and I we have a kid on the way, that’s due in February.

“And then Galway! My wife has a very big family so to see what all the rugby achievements I’ve done means to them, that means a lot to me and I’m just really honoured to be here now and to represent everyone that’s believed in me along the way.”