Furlong will learn after his ‘exile’ with Leinster
LEINSTER scrum coach John Fogarty has insisted that Tadhg Furlong’s confidence won’t be dented by his recent experience with the Ireland team.
Furlong came off the bench in Ireland’s Six Nations defeat to France in Paris to win just his fifth international cap, but after being subjected to a hammering in the scrum from French prop Eddy Ben Arous, was released back to Leinster for round three of the Six Nations.
However, Fogarty is confident that Furlong won’t be affected from that challenging evening in Paris — which led to captain Rory Best unintentionally criticising Furlong in a postmatch interview — pointing to his performances i n the Guinness PRO12 against Cardiff and Zebre since returning to provincial duty.
‘There’s always some disappoint- ment for sure, and you can’t say he’s delighted to be back here,’ Fogarty said.
‘There’s some disappointment that he’s not involved (with Ireland) but Tadhg is very realistic, and he wants to play week in, week out, so for him to come back here and get an opportunity to play, he’s happy to come back.
‘You know, he did well in that (France) game, he’s done well for us at the weekend. He’s very highly thought of here in Leinster and he’s performing quite well for us.
‘He is a young prop and there is always a learning curve. There were different things in that French game as well that were in play in the scrum, so Tadhg will assess that. We’ve looked at it, he’s come back here and performed well for us.’
Furlong was replaced during Leinster 27-10 win in Zebre on Sunday after rolling an ankle, and Fogarty admitted that the 23-year-old prop is now a doubt for Saturday’s clash against Ospreys at the RDS.
Another worry is Garry Ringrose, who picked up a ‘bang on the leg,’ and Fogarty stated both will be assessed day-to-day in the lead up to the game.
‘He’s (Furlong) in a boot at the moment. They haven’t been ruled out this week, but they’re not in (training) this week, they’re being assessed as the week goes,’ he said.
‘Jack Conan dropped out before the game, he had a small bit of stiffness around the ankle looked at, which was disappointing for him but it was very much precautionary. He should be fine leading into this week. From the game, there was a couple of bangs and bruises but nothing too serious.’