Video - Furlong hails impact of ‘big cheese’

Tadhg Furlong will be making his 20^th cap for Ireland when they line up against France in the Natwest 6 Nations on Saturday.

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.”

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.”

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.