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Tadhg Furlong will be making his 20th cap for Ireland when they line up against France in the Natwest 6 Nations on Saturday.
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The Leinster man has squeezed a lot into a short space of time. He made his debut against Wales in a warm up ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup and was subsequently selected in the squad, playing against Romania at Wembley. A 6 Nations debut followed the next year and he started the historic win over New Zealand in Chicago. 2017 saw his upward trajectory continue, he started every 6 Nations match and was then the Test tighthead for the British & Irish Lions against the All Blacks.
Such pedigree makes the 25-year-old well able to assess the up-and-coming talent breaking through. His clubmate James Ryan will pack down behind him in the second row against France, picking up his fifth cap and Furlong is hugely impressed with the man he calls ‘the big cheese’.
“He’s obviously a physically big man and very athletic as well, so the thing with James is when he is in the scrum behind you he is quite athletic, so he can hold his shape and form behind you and transfer good weight and he’s very eager.”
“I think he’s a really, really good rugby player. He is humble enough to ask you ‘is there anything I can do better’, or ‘is there anything I can tweak to make your life easier as a prop’. For a tighthead it is really good to see that sort of enthusiasm around scrums from him.”
Furlong a fan of ‘the big cheese’
Furlong admits to being “naïve” the last time he faced France in Paris and feels more prepared for what he’ll face.
“You go back and look at those clips from there and you look at where you are now – you can see a definite progression. You always refer back to the last time you played there, but as well it’s nice to be able to say you think you’re going a bit better now than you were back then.”
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But he’s expecting another physical test against a robust French pack.
“When you think of France and their game, their forward pack and their scrum, the maul, the lineout, it’s areas of the game where they are massively passionate about. Trying to face up to that, especially at home, is a huge challenge.”
Johnny Sexton was a man who received some brutal treatment at the hands of the French in 2016, however Furlong isn’t worried about it going into Saturday’s match.
“Johnny is a big enough boy, he can protect himself. As a forward pack, especially off the lineout when they are attacking into that ten channel, forwards can help out there and if we can manage to get front foot ball in the scrum, or the right side up, our flanker can help him as well off set plays. Knowing Johnny, he is well able to stand up for himself.”
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Schmidt sends clear message to referee on targeting of Sexton
Josh van der Flier will be one person who be tasked with keeping an eye on Sexton. He recently set a Pro 14 record for the number of tackles in a game – an impressive 34 against Connacht at the start of January.
“He is able to do it again and again and again. Obviously the tackle count for that game was ridiculously high, but he still tops the tackle count week on week and his work rate and his ability to get off the floor and make double and triple efforts is quite exceptional.”
Van der Flier breaks Pro 14 tackle count record against Connacht
Ireland will need more of the same from van der Flier and others if they’re to make a winning start to this years 6 Nations. Success in Paris would nicely set up a run of three home matches, as they look to end England’s reign as champions.
Comments on RugbyPass
Wayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
1 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
3 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to comments