There's always a fly in the ointment. Finlay Bealham's loving life with Connacht and Ireland and, in Saturday's Six Nations title decider against France, the 32-year-old will make his 50th Ireland appearance. All good, right? Absolutely, except for Bundee Aki's early morning Wordle spoilers.
"Off the pitch he's a bit of a nuisance," said Bealham of his Connacht and Ireland colleague. "Anyone do 'Wordle' in here? A few of the boys do it. He's up at the crack of dawn for some reason, and just writes the answer into the WhatsApp group and spoils it for everyone.
"He's that kind of character. On the pitch he's brilliant, but he ruins my 'Wordle' sometimes. I woke up one day last week and he had sent it in at like half six.
Sound." Leaving that aside, Bealham could barely be happier right now. He has been Ireland's go-to guy at tighthead in the absence of Tadhg Furlong.
That's a big void to fill and while Furlong returns to action in Saturday's crucial clash, Bealham has held the fort in impressive fashion. He's done so before, most notably in the 2023 Six Nations when his inside pass to Hugo Keenan earned him an eye-catching try assist as Ireland beat France. Bealham said: "I had a nice moment in that game, but what you didn't see was the training before it and how many times I screwed it up, even in the captain's run the day before! "But thankfully when it mattered we got it right.
I'm focused on just doing my job. Obviously set piece is a big one, France have an unbelievable se.