Finlay Harry Bealham (born 9 October 1991) is a professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays as a

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

club

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

. Born in Australia, he represents

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.

Early life

Bealham grew up in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. He attended St Edmund's College in the city. He played

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

at a young age before concentrating solely on union from the age of 16. Bealham was selected for the Australian schools team and represented their 'A' side. He was not given a spot in the

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...

academy and instead moved to Ireland to start his professional career. Bealham represents at international level, qualifying to play for them through his grandmother from

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Through his grandmother, Bealham is related to Northern Irish heavyweight boxer

Gordon Ferris Gordon Ferris (born 21 November 1952) is a Northern Irish former heavyweight boxer who was both Irish and British champion in the early 1980s. Career Born in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, and a lock-keeper by trade,

Club career

Bealham moved to Ireland in 2010 and initially played with the amateur side,

Belfast Harlequins Belfast Harlequins is a multi-sports club located off the Malone Road in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. The club name provides the overall umbrella for rugby union, men's and ladies' field hockey, hockey, and Squash (sport), squash. The club i ...

. Following the 2011 Junior World Cup, he was offered a place in the academy of

, 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. While in the academy Bealham played for the province's second-tier side, the

Connacht Eagles Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial men's rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht Branch, which ...

. Bealham made his full debut for Connacht in the

2013–14 Pro12 The 2013–14 Pro12 (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of the Pro12 rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the fourth with its current 12-team format, and the third with ...

on 23 February 2014. He came on from the bench away to Italian side

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...

, replacing Denis Buckley at loosehead on the 74 minute mark. Bealham went on to make a further five replacement appearances in the Pro12 that season. 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. In the 2014–15 season Bealham was moved from loosehead to play tighthead by Connacht forwards coach

Dan McFarland Dan McFarland (born 10 April 1972) is an English rugby union coach and former player. He was head coach of Ulster Rugby from 2018 to 2024. He played loosehead prop for Richmond, Stade Français and Connacht, retiring in 2006. He was forwards co ...

. 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 Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

in the

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

pool stages. He made his first start in the reverse fixture the following week. Bealham made his first league start on 26 December 2014 against

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

. During the course of the season he played 15 games in the

2014–15 Pro12 The 2014–15 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the fifth with its current four-country format. It was ...

, and made a total of five appearances in the Challenge Cup. He also featured in Connacht's final game of the season, a

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eith ...

against

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

which they lost 40–32 after extra time. During the course of the season, Bealham signed a new two-year deal to keep him with the province until summer 2017. Bealham was again a key part of Connacht's squad for the 2015–16 season, being the only player to feature in all 31 of the team's games in the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

and in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. He started 13 of these games, and scored his first try for the team against

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

on 16 April 2016. On 28 May 2016, Bealham started in the Pro12 Grand Final as Connacht won 20–10 against Irish rivals and reigning champions

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

to claim the team's first major trophy in their 121-year history. Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Bealham signed a contract extension to keep him in Galway until 2019. With the retirement of Nathan White, he came into the season as Connacht's first choice tighthead. Bealham played 19 of the team's 22 games in the

2016–17 Pro12 The 2016–17 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the seventh with a four-country format. It was t ...

, starting all but six, and featured in all seven of the side's European games for the season. He continued to be a key player for Connacht in the following season and made his 100th appearance for the side on 16 February 2018 against

In October 2018, Bealham signed another extension to his Connacht deal, this time extending to the end of the 2020–21 season. Bealham was named to the 2022–23 URC Elite XV of the year, his second domestic team of the year achievement.

International career

Bealham was selected to play for the Australian schools team in 2009. He featured for the team's 'A' side against Tonga and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. After becoming aware of his qualification to play for Ireland, Bealham became involved in the country's youth set-up through the

Irish Exiles Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

program. He made his debut for Ireland Under-20s against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the 2011 Six Nations Under 20s Championship. Later that year, Bealham was part of the Irish squad for the

2011 IRB Junior World Championship The 2011 IRB Junior World Championship was the fourth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaced the now defunct under 19 and under 21 world championships. The event was organised by rugby' ...

. He made a total of four appearances for the side, three of these coming as a replacement. Bealham was part of the

Emerging Ireland Emerging Ireland is an Irish international rugby union team that represents Irish Rugby Football Union, Ireland in selected matches, tours and competitions. Composed of Ireland qualified players only, mostly uncapped or at the beginning of their c ...

squad for the 2015 Tbilisi Cup. He played in two of the team's fixtures, replacing

Stephen Archer Stephen Archer (born 29 January 1988) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a prop. He last played for United Rugby Championship club Munster. Munster Archer made his Munster debut as a replacement against Edinburgh during a Celt ...

in the games against Emerging Italy and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, scoring a try in the latter. In January 2016, Bealham was called up to Ireland's squad for the Six Nations to replace the injured

Marty Moore William Martin Moore (born March 19, 1971) is a former professional American football linebacker who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns. Moore was the first Mr. Irrelev ...

. After

Cian Healy Cian Eoin James Healy (born 7 October 1987) is a former Irish people, Irish professional rugby union player who played as a Prop (rugby union), prop for Leinster Rugby, Leinster and for the Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland national tea ...

injured his hamstring, Bealham was promoted to the bench for the game against

. On 12 March 2016, 65 minutes into the game, he replaced Jack McGrath for his debut. Bealham was named in the Irish squad for the team's 2016 tour to South Africa, where he was named on the bench for all three tests, coming on as a 59th minute replacement for

Tadhg Furlong Tadhg Vincent Furlong (born 14 November 1992) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays tighthead prop for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team. Furlong is widely considered to be one of the world' ...

in the second. Bealham had been due to play in the first test of the

2022 Ireland rugby union tour of New Zealand In July 2022, Ireland played a 3 match test series against New Zealand as part of the 2022 mid-year rugby union internationals. Ireland also played two matches against the Māori All Blacks. This was Ireland's first tour since their tour to Au ...

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 2 July but

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

meant he could not. Bealham started every game of the 2025 Six Nations due to

being injured. Enjoying some of the best form of his international career, Will Greenwood tipped Bealham as a candidate for Player of the tournament.

Honours

; Connacht * 1×

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

; Ireland * 2×

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* 1×

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

* 3× Triple Crown:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

; Individual * 2×

Dream Team: 2015–16,

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

References

External links

*
Ireland Profile

Ireland Under-20 Profile

EPCR Profile

Pro12 Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bealham, Finlay 1991 births Living people Australian people of Irish descent Australian rugby union players Connacht Rugby players Australian expatriate rugby union players in Ireland Ireland international rugby union players Irish rugby union players Rugby union props Rugby union players from Canberra Irish Exiles rugby union players 2023 Rugby World Cup players People educated at St Edmund's College, Canberra 21st-century Australian sportsmen