Tadhg Furlong ready for scrum battle with Ellis Genge

Furlong and Genge spent this past Summer as teammates out in Australia, as the Leinster and Bristol pillars formed quite the cohesive unit in Andy Farrell's touring side that prevailed over the Wallabies.

Now, Furlong finds himself on the opposite side of the scrum to his former Lions teammate, as Ireland travel across to Twickenham for their third round clash in the 2026 Guinness Men's Six Nations. Furlong returns to the starting XV for the first time in this campaign, having fully recovered from a calf injury. The 33-year-old spoke about how he will leave any Lions catch-ups until after the game, as he prefers a stoic, silent approach to binding up with the Baby Rhino.

"Yeah, I tend to leave the chatting until after the game." Furlong said at the Ireland camp. "I suppose everyone's different really. I think he's [Genge] playing really well. He’s not a fella with a Lions hangover, I don't think. He’s scrummaging really well to be fair to him. They're [England] scrummaging very well. I think they put Scotland under the pump at the weekend. He's a strong man, he's aggressive."

On the subject of a potential Lions 'hangover', Furlong spoke about how it is possible for a player to fall off in form after achieving their life-long goal of wearing the red jersey. There has been some discourse, that Ireland fell victim to post-Lions fatigue, given how 16 players joined up with head coach Andy Farrell for the past Summer's expeditions across Australia. Whilst Furlong understands the precedent, he does not pin Ireland's recent short-comings down to such burn-out.

"I don't think it's much of an excuse to be honest with you. It definitely puts strain on your body for some lads, I'd feel. Some lads play eight games on them tours, so it's a lot of strain on them. Does that have a hangover? I'm not sure. I think the Irish system would get a good pre-season, etc. Granted, it was short this year and straight into rugby.

"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. It's some of the experience I've had with people that have maybe dropped off after a Lions tour that I've seen."

After an underwhelming Autumn brought about defeats to New Zealand and South Africa, and the 2026 Six Nations began with a defeat against France, Ireland could really build some momentum this Saturday if they are able to hand England a defeat, after returning to winning ways against Italy. Furlong said how he 'likes where this road leads', as a new-look Ireland team peppered with fresh faces, are steadily clicking their way through the gears ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

"There's obviously players missing [from the Ireland camp], either through injury or through retirement. It changes the feel of the group a little bit. 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'.

"As the weeks went on, some of the younger players, or maybe players who have been brought back into camp, they really come out with their shell. 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 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."

One such player who finds himself back in the Ireland camp with a new lease on Test match life is prop Tom O'Toole. The Ulster front row was re-called into the group, having dropped to the international fringes since the 2023 Rugby World Cup. O'Toole has been progressing up the prop pecking order after making the switch across from tight-head to loose-head, which is a trait that Furlong does not down play.

"I made my second cap for Ireland in loose-head, in Twickenham as well, actually. The first scrum was blown up for a re-set because I bound on top of the tight-head, which is the wrong way around. That was one of the most nervous weeks of my life. To be fair to Tom, he took to it. He was strong in the game when he came on [against Italy], I thought. He's obviously a big man, he's obviously a tight-head, but it's impressive how he took to it just in one week."