Had Tadhg Furlong not been on a British & Irish Lions tour before, he might be rattled — and worried — at this point. The Lions are looking clunky and tired after a relentless three weeks which have taken them from Dublin to Adelaide via Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.
This has meant the team have barely trained. They have certainly set no scrums other than in matches, to the point where Furlong has called the Lions’ preparations “back of the fag packet stuff”. No wonder, then, that they still look underprepared for the looming Test series. The Brumbies match in Canberra was meant to be where the “Test” side made their statement in Australia, yet in Wednesday’s 36-24 win they were still a bits-and-pieces team.
However, Furlong, who started at tight-head, is not too concerned. The Irish prop, now on his third tour, said he did not really savour the 2017 trip to New Zealand where he made his name, as it was all too stressful, too taxing. Now, aged 32, he is more relaxed about the madness of a Lions tour, and is trying to impart this wisdom upon those in the squad here that have never experienced one.
“We’re kind of into the madness of a Lions tour with the three-day, four-day turnarounds,” Furlong says. “It’s something we’re embracing but also it’s something that takes you outside your comfort zone because it’s way outside of what you’re used to prepping for a normal game.
Furlong played in the win against the Brumbies and is a likely Test starter
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“It’s the adjustment in your very core belief in how you prep for a game. Your week gets ripped apart. You’re thrown out there. Your body might be a little bit sore. You’re playing two games a week. You’re travelling. You’ve no down time.
“You’re just thrown out there and you have to perform. You learn a lot about yourself. I’m saying that to the young lads. I think they learn a lot about themselves coming off the back of the first Lions tour. It’s something I reflected on massively after New Zealand, particularly about how this thing all works and what’s really important.
“I suppose I was very young in the first one [24]. I didn’t take a whole lot in. I didn’t know a whole lot about myself or rugby and how to perform.
“It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, I found it stressful the whole time because you’re coming up against New Zealand scrums but you’re trying to get into the Test team. I always thought if I go on another one it would be great.
“To go on a third one is an absolute bonus. I suppose it’s something you look on now and realise how privileged you are. You take everything in. It’s an unbelievable thing and I’m delighted to be part of it.”
Furlong admits he “didn’t take a whole lot in” as a 24-year-old on his first Lions tour, to New Zealand in 2017
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Furlong realised through these experiences, in New Zealand and then South Africa four years ago, that he does not need extensive preparation to be right for the Lions Tests.
“My body’s changed,” he says, having come through a season plagued by calf issues. “I have to keep on top of stuff to stay on the pitch. What do I actually need to do in a week to get out there on a Saturday and play? What’s really important for me? I have to boil that down further again here.
“I need to feel good in the scrums. I need to have it in the legs — just feel right. I don’t go chasing it. Don’t waste too much emotional energy on stuff. Stay nice and loose and play ball. You can’t beat playing the game.”
In a usual week with Ireland Furlong says they would go through ten or 11 live scrums — drilling binds and “entries” to set pieces on a Monday, three or four scrums on a Tuesday and six or seven on a Wednesday. Yet in Australia, they have been doing none at all in these two-match weeks.
“We don’t get any scrums really in training, especially [with] these two games a week. We did one entry on Tuesday, which is kind of unheard of, really. It’s kind of back of a fag pack stuff. It’s a little bit mad,” he says.
The Irishman likes Genge’s aggressive approach
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So it is credit to Furlong and the other front-row forwards that the scrum has been one of the Lions’ best areas on this trip. Furlong likes Ellis Genge’s aggression and Will Stuart’s size. He feels they can crack on with their roles, as they are all experienced.
The Irishman trusts that up front, and everywhere else, it will click soon. In 2017 he felt that happened when they beat the Crusaders 12-3 before the Test series. He has not yet felt that moment of clarity on this trip, but believes it is close. He also is sure the Test series against the Wallabies will be a cracker.
“I know a lot of people travelling out for the Tests. Everyone’s kind of flooding in — my own family are flooding in on Thursday into Adelaide,” he says.
“That’s the special thing about the Lions tour. It brings all the fans together and brings the red. In terms of the game, we still are a little bit clunky because of the breakdown. We’re maybe forcing passes, maybe we’re not decisive at times. I think there’s good growth there, and it feels like this thing is coming together. We’re dialling this thing up. We just need to iron out the last bit.
“It doesn’t probably feel like we’re there yet, but it doesn’t feel like we’re far away.”