Tadhg Furlong discusses the potential impact of the Lions tour on players' form and mentality, as well as Ireland's slow start to the Six Nations, attributing it to a combination of factors including injuries, retirements, and new faces in the team.
Tadhg Furlong was one of the fifteen Ireland players initially selected to tour with the Lions. And he notes the opinion that, in the wake of the trip to Australia, picking up for the 2025/26 season has been ‘difficult’.
It is not a theory, however, that Ireland tighthead Tadhg Furlong is for leaning into. 'I don't think it's much of an excuse to be honest with you,” says the three-Test star. “It definitely puts strain on your body for some lads. Some lads play eight games on them tours so it's a lot of strain on them. 'I think mentally, for some players to get on the Lions is nearly like their pinnacle. Next thing, how do they get up for the next game, or how do they get up for this game or that game? 'Everything maybe seems insignificant the year after, maybe they think they're better than they are. “That’s some of the experience I've had with people that have maybe dropped off after a Lions tour. It could be physically, it could be mentally, it could be within them, either way.' Lions-affected or just form-affected it has been a slow Six Nations start for Ireland: a heavy loss in France, a seven-point home win over Italy - no bonus points from either game. 'There's obviously players missing, either through injury or through retirement, it changes the feel of the group a little bit I think. 'At the same time, I remember when we travelled off to Portugal and there was a load of new faces. I thought, 'Jeez, this felt a bit different.' I feel a little bit older out there. 'But from a rugby point of view. It's been great to see some of them push on a bit in training, but also get their chances in games. 'Where that leads us, the rest of the championship will tell that story. “I kind of like where the group is going. I like where the road leads, if we can get there. I think there's a lot of promise in that.' It's been a personal triumph for the New Ross man just to get back playing, starting on the bench last week weekend's 40 minutes were his first since mid-January following being injured in Bayonne. 'In the past, we would have had injury, and then we would have re-injured and re-injured and re-injured but I was, like, where did this come from? I'm sure no-one knows either. 'Afterwards it was right, let's just get this right otherwise a three-, four-week injury becomes a 12- or 13-week injury. 'Luckily, a lot of the work we've done previously has got us back on the pitch and good fettle without re-injury, to be fair. I think injuries happen in rugby anyway, it's just part of it. 'Especially when you go back to the time between the November series and the Six Nations, I think there was a block of 10 games there in province and you're on. 'A lot of big games, a lot of Interpros, a lot of European games. The workload ended up pretty significant. Sin é, really, that's the tale of it.' Preparation is quite simple when it comes to traveling to face England. 'Like a lot of it is just trying to get yourself right is the truth. You can't get someone to replicate what England do exactly either. 'It's a bit of on the fly and a bit of experience in the game. But a lot of the time you're trying to do what your plan is in training and try to get into the game. 'Because there's no point in training and not putting it in. You know what I mean? Having a plan in training or off the pitch and on the pitch in training - and then not doing it in the game.' Both England and Ireland have one win apiece which makes the third game pivotal for both sides ambitions. 'Winning on the road is such a hard thing to do in the Six Nations, home advantage is such a thing. I suppose that's a big challenge ahead of us at the weekend. 'I know we won there in 2018 and a few times. It's not a regular thing. You know, some people might in the past maybe fancy to go over and get a win. 'But it's not in the history of Irish rugby to feel that way. You know what I mean? It's a massive challenge.' While there will also be a reunion with his in-form summer tour colleague Ellis Genge, no 'Lions hangover' there. And where there will be a bit of what Jamison Gibson-Park's makey-up word for friendly rivalry from earlier in the week, 'mate-ship', will be at play. 'Yeah, I tend to leave the chatting until after the game to be. I suppose everyone's different really. I think he's playing really well. 'He’s not a fellah with a Lions hangover, I don't think. He’s scrummaging really well to be fair to him and they're scrummaging very well. 'I think they put Scotland under the pump a bit the weekend. He's a strong man, he's aggressive.' Want to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply click here . Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the top stories and biggest headlines from Ireland and beyond .
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