Finlay Bealham is one of several players training himself to treat former friends as foes when facing Pat Lam’s Bristol in a crucial Champions Cup game at the Sportsground on Friday (8pm).
“It’s just business,” the popular prop says of Lam and a cohort of former Connacht players that include good friends such as Kieran Marmion, AJ MacGinty, Jake Heenan, and his former coach Lam.
“It’s a good storyline with all the returning faces,” said Bealham. “People who have done a lot for our club and are coming back. We are aware of that.
“This week the lads had their heads screwed on straight away coming into training. Everyone is focused for Friday night and doing everything they can to get the win. It will be an exciting game.”
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Bealham, of course, is not the only connection. Forwards coach John Muldoon will also reunite with the club which provided his entrée in coaching, while Joe Joyce spent nine years at Ashton Gate where he made more than 150 appearances before being given Lam’s blessing to move west to the land of his forefathers. Add in the likes of Kiwi-born Heenan, who Lam brought to the Sportsground where he played for five years, and MacGinty, and there is no shortage of familiar faces.
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And Bealham has nothing but praise for his former coach who contributed to his development after arriving in the west.
“He took a shine to me when I was a young lad running around the academy, and at 103 kilos he saw something in me and backed me, and I’ll always be thankful for what he has done for me personally to help with my game.
“He was an incredible coach when he was here, and on top of that he was a really good bloke as well. There are a few lads who would not be where they are without someone like him, and I am certainly one of those people.
“I know he has since moved on, but I keep in touch with him. He was at my wedding, and he’s certainly been an influential character in my career.”
Similarly he enjoys a great friendship with Marmion, who was the groomsmen at his wedding. But on Friday it is all about the rugby.
“You play for a good length of time, but you are always going to move on, and then you see the way the draw works. I’ve played against friends before, and it’s all good.”
Both sides have much on the line. The Bears, having secured only one win against Lyon, still have an outside chance to advance in the Champions Cup, but need a bonus-point win over Connacht. But Pete Wilkins’s side has a definite path to play in the Challenge Cup, but would also need to win with a bonus point, and deny Bristol any points.
“They also have a huge amount to play for – they’re in the mix – so they will be coming here with a point to prove in this competition, and we certainly have one to prove also, so it makes for some fireworks on Friday.”
Coming off a week’s break, Bealham has played in all games since returning from Ireland duty.
“I hadn’t missed a game since then, and when you get older you have an awareness that you can’t play every week. I had the weekend off, so I took it as a week for myself, trained hard, tried to improve a few things, and now it’s a big one this Friday and all eyes are on that.”
Acutely aware of his fellow props, such as Jack Aungier, Dominic Robertson-McCoy and Sam Illo, Bealham says they keep him in check.
“As one of the older member of the squads, it’s good to have the young guys really hungry behind you, chomping at the bit. It keeps me grounded and keeps me wanting to improve myself, and it all helps the team when lads are competing like that.
“In terms of prop years, they are all quite young to be fair, and we often sit down post-training sessions, and I’d look at what they are doing and take from them and vice versa. The lads are always eager to learn from each other and take all the good bits, and they are really good at taking criticism too, so it’s a healthy group and healthy competition at tighthead.”
Acutely conscious that Connacht’s Champions Cup run has not been the most successful this season, Bealham admits the need to deliver a performance this weekend.
“I know in the last Champions Cup game, we didn’t put our best foot forward, so we really want to go out and produce a performance of which we can be really proud. We did some good stuff in the Munster game and gave the crowd something to cheer about, and we will be looking to do that again this Friday.
“Champions Cup rugby is the best competition, and we haven’t achieved what we wanted to, but there’s still an opportunity on Friday to make a statement against Bristol.”
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