Six Nations: Tadhg Beirne insists Ireland must improve for Wales visit
Tadhg Beirne has warned Ireland against complacency following their historic victory over England as they prepare to host Wales in the Six Nations on Friday.
The 34-year-old lock maintains that Andy Farrell’s side must prioritize improvement over reflection despite the euphoria of their recent triumph at Twickenham.
Ireland return to action in Dublin (20:10 GMT) seeking to build on the momentum of that comprehensive 42-21 success.
“A better performance against Wales is what we’ll be chasing,” said the Munster forward.
“You can’t just pat yourselves on the back and think it’s going to happen again. You have to focus on what went well, bank it, and then also focus on what to improve on.”
The second row believes relying on past glory is a dangerous trap in tournament rugby.
“There’s no point saying that was a good performance, we’ll just do it again next week. It doesn’t work like that,” he added.
“You have to work incredibly hard to get those performances and it’ll be no different next week.”
Expecting a reaction
While the defending champions were dominant in London, Warren Gatland’s Wales arrive in Dublin desperate for a result.
The visitors were denied a first championship win since 2023 by Scotland in a tight encounter in Cardiff last week.
Beirne believes recent scorelines have been misleading regarding the threat posed by the struggling Welsh side.
“Wales, much like us, are improving game on game,” said the British and Irish Lion.
“A lot of the scorelines against the teams they’ve played against have probably not painted them in the best picture in terms of how well they played in parts of those games.”
He expects the visitors to draw strength from their near-miss against the Scots.
“They’re chasing better 80-minute performances and they were very close to getting the win against Scotland. I think that performance will give them a lot of confidence coming in against us.”
‘Incredibly sad’ times for Welsh rugby
Friday’s fixture holds significant personal resonance for Beirne, who revived his career during a transformative two-year spell with Scarlets.
Having lifted the Pro12 title with the Llanelli-based region in 2017, the Ireland international expressed sympathy regarding proposals to reduce the number of Welsh professional sides.
Plans are currently being discussed to cut the regions from four to three amid a financial crisis.
“I feel incredibly sad for all those individuals who have families and everything at home and it’s going to create a lot of pressure for those guys,” he said.
Beirne admitted that financial uncertainty was present even during his tenure in Wales.
“I do remember when I was there, there were whispers of the same thing happening,” he recalled.
“It just seems a little bit more serious at this point.”