'It's nice to play rugby and get match-fit' - Tadhg Furlong back to his best but warns of second Test swing

RTÉ News​

3 days ago

While Tadhg Beirne grabbed the headlines in the British and Irish Lions' commanding first Test win in Melbourne, another Tadhg has also found his top form in Australia.
Tadhg Furlong only played nine games for club and country in 2024/25 as he dealt with a series of niggling injuries, and arrived into Lions camp in June following a six-week layoff, with his final game in the domestic season coming in Leinster's Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton Saints in early May.
His place in the squad was by no means guaranteed, but having worked his way ahead of Will Stuart and Finlay Bealham in Andy Farrell's depth-chart, he justified that faith with a vintage display in Brisbane as he helped the tourists to a 27-19 win.
"I haven't been playing a whole lot of rugby," he replied, when it was suggested to him that he looks like someone who is enjoying his game.
And while the Lions' hectic travel schedule has led to less time on the training pitch, the 32-year-old (below) believes it's worked in his favour.
"I love rugby. I genuinely do. It's never a chore for me to train or to play.
"Ironically the lack of training on this tour is great for my body because you come to the game fresh. Previously I would have had a lot of overload injuries. It's nice to play rugby and get match-fit by playing rugby, two games a week."
A Lion in 2017 and 2021, Furlong has now started all seven Tests across these three tours, but the Leinster tighthead is still looking to win a series, having drawn against New Zealand before losing to South Africa four years ago.
Across those two previous tours, he's seen both series flip in the second Test. Eight years ago, the Lions recovered from a defeat to the All Blacks with an impressive win in Wellington, while roles were reversed in Cape Town in 2021, when the Springboks came from behind to clinch the second and third Tests.
And those experiences are a stark reminder that the Lions' work is far from over ahead of their trips to Melbourne and Sydney.
"There's a flow to it. The group is edgy, we don't know each other. We don't know Australia, what they're like on the pitch, they don't know us.
"You do all your prep, there's a realisation then after that about what it takes in the game, there's an ebb and flow on it.
"As stupid as it sounds, it's all about putting the game out there and there'll be tweaks and changes and nuances, a little bit of tit for that.
"It's a little bit like the old Heineken Cup used to be with the double header, it changes.
"There's two sides to the coin. Obviously, there's us not getting complacent, learning the lessons. We have a midweek game again, it'll be great to see the boys go out and see who puts their hands up. We can do the Tuesday-Saturday [schedule], we know that, so if lads go well there then we know they will be in contention.
"The other side of that is that we know what it means to the Aussies, the desperation is all on the line for them next weekend."
Four years on from the South African series being played out to the backdrop of silence in empty stadiums in Cape Town, Suncorp Stadium was fully charged with the touring supporters outnumbering their Australian hosts.
And Furlong says that support hasn't gone unnoticed.
"Class, even the town, you know? On Thursday it filled up, you can feel it, everyone wears red.
"I'm sure Canterbury are delighted with the sales of the stuff, everyone seems to be wearing the kit, they wear their club hat or whatever.
"It's why the Lions is special, it's not lost on us."
Among that support is his mother Margaret, who joined the camp along with the other families of the squad for a special jersey presentation on Thursday evening, a poignant moment for the family after the passing of Tadhg's father James in late 2023.
"My mam and aunty are over, she did my jersey presentation on Thursday.
"It's nice, to be fair to her it's not easy to be here, any time she'd have travelled previously was with my father but she's great, she's out and about.
"She was kayaking on the river this morning, she sent me a picture out on the river, fair play to her."