Following a recurrence of his calf injury, Ireland hopes Tadhg Furlong will be able to play in this year’s Guinness Six Nations tournament.
The Leinster tighthead left Ireland’s warm-weather training camp in Portugal on Sunday after being ruled out of Saturday’s opener against England in Dublin.
Furlong has suffered from a number of soft-tissue problems in recent seasons, missing all four of Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series games in November due to hamstring and calf injuries.
The 32-year-old was out for nearly three months due to these concerns before returning for Leinster’s Investec Champions Cup victory over La Rochelle just over two weeks ago, and he has only played three games this season.
However, IRFU performance director David Humphreys says they are confident that his current setback would not rule him out for the entire championship.
“It’s certainly not as significant as it was [in November], and we’d like to see him back in the Six Nations,” Humphreys said from Ireland’s Algarve training camp.
In Furlong’s absence, Finlay Bealham is expected to win his 49th cap in the starting lineup this weekend against England, with Leinster’s Thomas Clarkson and Connacht’s uncapped Jack Aungier vying for a position on the bench.
Furlong recently signed a two-year contract extension with the IRFU, which would keep him at Leinster until the summer of 2027.
Humphreys claims he is still as vital to their goals as he was before.
“You understand how important Tadhg has been to Ireland’s success over the last ten years. Yes, there is little doubt that as a player ages, the chance of injury increases.
“But he worked really hard with the medical team over the previous several weeks to recover in time for the La Rochelle game.
“He’s back in Dublin now, there will be some investigations and when there’s something further, Simon [Easterby] will be able to update you on the nature of the injury,” said the politician.
Humphreys (below) has also encouraged Easterby to make a smooth transition to head coach, while Andy Farrell is away with the British and Irish Lions until the end of the summer.
The Ireland defensive coach will serve as interim head coach for the next seven months, including the Six Nations and summer tour.
While Humphreys feels Farrell is still the top coach in world rugby, he believes the structures are in place to ensure Ireland does not lose ground without him.
He stated, “Andy Farrell would be missed by any coaching team. In my opinion, he is the best rugby coach in the world, which is why he has become such a vital part of what we do.
“Having been on the Emerging Ireland tour and seen how Simon and Paulie [O’Connell], John Fogarty, and Andrew Goodman collaborate, I have no doubt it will be a smooth transition in the coming months.”
“Even here this week and back in Dublin, Andy is not here, but nothing else has changed.
“Simon has been a big part of the success over the last few years, he has head coach experience and I have no doubt he’ll thrive under the pressure that will come with head coach over the next few weeks.”
Ireland won three of four games in the Autumn Nations Series in November, although they struggled to meet their customary high standards, with a number of error-filled performances, particularly in the first two games of the month against New Zealand and Argentina.
However, the former Ireland and Ulster out-half is certain that these concerns will not carry over into 2025.
“When the review was taken off the November series, when you look before that, coming into that competition, the provinces weren’t playing particular well, some of our key players were probably struggling a bit with their form,” he shared.
“Compare that to the last month, when I believe you saw a lot of our top players perform well in Europe.” That is why we are in a strong position heading into the Six Nations.
“The players are playing with a lot more confidence that comes from having played well.”
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