Tadhg Furlong (born 14 November 1992) is an Irish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player for

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

in the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

and

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

. His preferred position is tighthead prop. Internationally, Furlong has represented

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and, in 2017 and 2021, the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

. Furlong is an elite scrummager who also possesses good ball handling and running skills, and is considered one of the best front row forwards in world rugby.

Early life

Furlong comes from a farming family in the parish of Horeswood in

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

. He started his rugby playing underage at

New Ross RFC About New Ross RFC is an Ireland, Irish Rugby union, rugby team based in New Ross, County Wexford, playing in Division 2A of the Leinster League. Along with fielding competitive Men's J1 and J2 teams weekly (along with a 3rd team for competing i ...

in County Wexford. Furlong also played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

and

Hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

for

Horeswood Horeswood GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in County Wexford, Ireland. The club fields teams in Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and Ladies Gaelic football, and participates in competitions organized by Wexford GAA county board. Earl ...

for which he was coached by Jimmy Furlong.

Professional

Furlong made his senior debut for

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

in November 2013 as a replacement against the

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. He was part of the

Leinster A Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

team which won the

2013–14 British and Irish Cup The 2013–14 British and Irish Cup was the fifth season of the annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs from Britain and Ireland. Leinster A were the defending champions having won the 2012–13 Final with a 78th ...

. Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Furlong was promoted from the Leinster Academy to the senior squad. In 2021 Furlong was selected to World Rugby's Dream Team of the Year.

International

Ireland

Furlong made his Ireland senior debut on 29 August 2015 against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in a

warm-up 'Warming up' is a part of stretching and preparation for physical exertion or a performance by exercising or practicing gently beforehand, usually undertaken before a performance or practice. Athletes, singers, actors and others warm up before s ...

game for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

. He was named in the Ireland squad for the World Cup on 1 September 2015. In November 2016, Furlong started for Ireland in the Autumn Internationals, including the historical victory over New Zealand on 15 November 2016. He also played for Ireland in the 2017 Six Nations Championship.

Lions

Furlong was selected in

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is currently in his second spell as the head coach of the Wales national team. As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six N ...

's squad for the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. He started all three test matches in the drawn series. On 6 May 2021, Furlong was named in the squad for the

2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa The 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour that took place in South Africa in July and August 2021. The British & Irish Lions, a team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scot ...

Honours

Individual

*World Rugby Dream Team of the Year **Winner (1): 2021

Ireland

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

: **Winner (1):

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

: **Winner (1):

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

: **Winner (2):

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Leinster

: **Winner (4): 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 *

: **Winner (1): 2018

References

External links

Leinster ProfilePro14 Profile
*
Ireland ProfileBritish & Irish Lions Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Furlong, Tadhg 1992 births Living people Gaelic footballers who switched code Sportspeople from County Wexford Rugby union props Irish rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Ireland international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Alumni of Dublin City University People educated at St Augustine's and Good Counsel College, New Ross