A year ago the 25-year-old was left out of the Wales squad for the Autumn Nations Cup after being given things to work on by head coach Wayne Pivac.
But Beard’s character and work ethic shone through with the giant lock improving his game under Toby Booth at the Ospreys and forcing his way back into Wales’ squad for the Six Nations.
The 25-times capped Wales international was outstanding as Pivac’s side were crowned Six Nations champions with his form earning him a late call-up to this summer’s British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa.
Beard still has to pinch himself when reflecting on how his season went in 2020/21.
“Oh my God, it was absolutely crazy,” he said. “It was carnage. That’s the word for it.
“It was a bit of a weird season in general. It started off with disappointment with not getting selected for Wales but then I had a really positive impact with the Ospreys moving forwards and I ended up getting back in the Wales squad and having a really good Six Nations.
“I had an initial email from the Lions so I thought to myself ‘It could be this year.’ I had the initial disappointment of not being picked, then I had a week of camp in north Wales, coming back to watch the Lions game with Japan, and seeing Alun Wyn Jones go down.
“I was disappointed at first but then I got a phone call that Saturday night and I met up with the squad the next day. It was the craziest 12 hours of my rugby career to date.”
Despite getting called up by Warren Gatland, Beard was still an outsider to make the Lions Test squad with experienced second rows such as Ian Henderson, Maro Itoje, Tadhg Beirne, and Jonny Hill in the mix.
But the Swansea man was arguably the form second row on the tour with his performances in the warm-up games earning him rave reviews until he finally made his Test debut for the Lions off the bench in the third game with the Springboks.
Beard admits it was beyond his wildest dreams to play for the Lions in a Test match.
“If you’d asked me if I thought I’d play in a Test when I first got called up I would have laughed at you and said no way,” he added.
“I do remember when I first got out there Gats pulled me to one side and said ‘Congratulations but don’t rest on your laurels. I want you to put your hand up and play like you did for Wales in the Six Nations and push for a Test spot.’
“The first couple of club games went well for me and I remember him saying after the selection for the first Test I was unlucky not to be involved.
“They showed me stats about how much the Test teams change from Test one to three and that there would be opportunities moving forwards. It was about keeping training well, staying on your toes and I was lucky enough to get an opportunity in that final Test.”
After some much needed time off during the summer months Beard made his Ospreys comeback as a second-half replacement during last weekend’s derby victory over Cardiff.
And he is adamant last season’s highs and lows have improved him significantly as a player.
“It was great out there to see how other second rows and players go about their business,” Beard said.
“It was good to learn off players like Maro Itoje and Iain Henderson and I already have Alun Wyn. It was good to see little details around the line-out and how they go about prepping for stuff like that.
“When you go out there you see how professional these players are and it’s good to learn from people from other countries.
“You know about the Welsh boys with the regions and international camps but it’s good to see a little insight from other players.”
