Tadhg Beirne admitted being named British and Irish Lions player of the series after defeat by Australia in Saturday’s final Test was “bittersweet”.
Beirne’s place on the team for the first Test had been questioned in some quarters, but the Munster forward was instrumental in helping the Lions secure a 2-1 series win over the Wallabies.
Although Joe Schmidt’s side won the final Test in Sydney to salvage some pride, the spoils went to the Lions as Andy Farrell masterminded the series win thanks to their earlier victories in Brisbane and Melbourne.
Irish flanker Beirne admitted he was unsure whether he would make the team for the opening Test, which the Lions won 27-19, but he grabbed his opportunity and comes away as one of the stars of the tour.
“It’s a massive honour but more about the series win for me,” he said.
“It’s a bittersweet moment. It’s a class moment we’ve won the series, but we’ve lost tonight.. but as Faz [head coach Andy Farrell] said, we’ll get over it because we’ve won the series.
“I was unsure whether Faz was going to pick me, so when you see your name on the board, I knew it was an opportunity for me, but if I didn’t play well he would take me out just as quick as he put me in. I needed to step up, as did all of the players, and we did that.”
There is not a lot the 33-year-old has not experienced on a rugby pitch, but Saturday’s 22-12 win for Australia did throw up a first for Beirne, with the game suspended for 40 minutes because of lightning in the vicinity of Stadium Australia.
“It was just a bit strange,” said the Munster player.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that, so it was a bit of the unknown. You’re told it’s going to be 45 minutes so you try to relax a bit before getting back up and then all of a sudden it’s seven minutes and you’re switching on to try and focus the mind again.
“I’ve never experienced that before, but I have now and will know what to expect the next time.”
