"He's Healthy" - Tadhg Furlong injury update as Ireland prop backed to return for Italy clash

The latest reports coming out of the Ireland team are positive signs for Furlong's return, as the prop was fully involved and competing in scrum training and looks poised for his comeback. Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty provided the latest update, in the hopes that Furlong will be make a triumphant return to the Aviva Stadium, ahead of the Valentine's Day clash with Italy.

“He's healthy. He's massive (for us)." Fogarty said. "He's played three Lions Series and nine Tests in those series. So he brings in all the experience and confidence and so on. So, yeah, it's massive. He's trained now. We've done live scrums today. We're doing a few more tomorrow. So he has completed all his bits and he was in live scrums. He did the session. So, yeah, it's brilliant to have a player like him back.”

“Everyone else (trained), as far as I'm aware. Everyone trained fully. Yeah, I'm so focused on my guys that I sometimes miss some of those backs.”

Looking across the packs, Fogarty cast his eye upon the incoming Italy scrum which has proven to be quite the impressive force in recent months. Gonzalo Quesada's forwards impressed all onlookers in the latest Autumn Nations Series, as the Azzurri out-scrummed the mighty Springboks when the two sides clashed in November. Fogarty felt like this dented the South African pride, ahead of an unforgettably bizarre clash in Dublin which closed out Ireland's Autumn Series.

“Massively, [impressive] From November, Italy played South Africa before we played South Africa. Italy took a couple of penalties off them and they shoved South Africa off their own ball, which is no easy task. I think South Africa were fired up coming over here because of what Italy did to them.

Italy [also] turned over Australia at scrum time and they got five penalties out of Scotland [last weekend]. Unbelievably well connected, very compact scrum. That's unbelievably committed as a group. And that's what we see when we watch. That's what we love. I'm a rugby fan. I loved watching that game because it was tight, the conditions and you saw a team dig it out and everyone loves that. They play for each other massively, and in the scrum, we can see that clearly.

Whilst Ireland commenced their 2026 Six Nations campaign on the losing foot, the scrum was certainly a positive element of the side's performance to take away from Paris. The former Ireland hooker revealed how the week's scrum-time preparations, has been an astute mix of Italian awareness, whilst focusing upon their own set-piece successes from the Stade de France.

“So we need to be, again, clear about what the threats are, but double down on what it is that worked for us in France and go to work now. We need to do things our way. Sometimes I think in the past, we were looking at other scrums and we get distracted by what they can do and how we can stop them.

“We really started to look at ourselves and what we do, what the Irish way of doing things is at scrum time, we're in an okay place. It went okay at the weekend [against France].”