Furlong and McCarthy to miss Scotland Six Nations clash but Connacht duo passed fit
NOT OUT FURLONG: Ireland assistant coach John Fogarty said Tadhg Furlong is "making great progress" with the calf injury which kept him out of the Six Nations victory over England. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations trip to Scotland this Sunday will come too soon for injured forwards Tadhg Furlong and Joe McCarthy but opening weekend causalties Finlay Bealham and Mack Hansen have been passed fit for the Murrayfield clash.
Tighthead prop Furlong was forced to sit out last Saturday’s first-round championship victory over England in Dublin with a recurrence of the calf injury which sidelined him for last November’s Autumn Nations Series of Test matches. Lock McCarthy, an ever present in the second row since the 2023 World Cup, sustained a head knock in training three days before the England game, forcing interim head coach Simon Easterby into a pack reshuffle but neither he nor Furlong will recover in time to face the Scots as Ireland bid to beat their rivals for the 11th game in a row.
“I think the game is going to come too soon for the boys,” assistant coach John Fogarty confirmed on Wednesday following a training session at the IRFU High Performance Centre in west Dublin. Yet the scrum coach did have better news on Furlong’s replacement at tighthead Bealham, who injured an ankle in the second half last Saturday, and Hansen, Ireland’s right wing who suffered a cut to his knee that required a blood replacement in the first half but returned to finish the 80 minutes.
Of Connacht duo Bealham and Hansen, Fogarty said: “They trained just now and it looks positive for both of them. They took part in the full session.
"(Hansen) had quite a deep cut on his knee but movement-wise, he was good when he came back on. Mack doesn't think too much. It was a nasty enough cut but he doesn't spend time dwelling on it. He's moving really, really well. He's out there sprinting and chasing kicks, all the bits. He's good.
“(Bealham has) had issues with his ankle before and he got caught, it was nasty enough. But the medical staff have managed to put him in a good place and he looks good. He's moving well on the field and he's good."
Fogarty outlined what the Ireland coaching group under interim head coach Simon Easterby was looking to build on from the 27-22 victory over the English as they face into a contest against a Scottish side which scored a bonus-point victory of their own on Saturday at home to Italy.
“There are a few bits and pieces, it’s a different challenge. We’re away from home, so there is a different mentality to going over there.
“There are parts around our kick-chase that we have identified as coaches and there’s bits and pieces across the game. We are always trying to improve. We want to have a better performance.
“We are searching for that better performance – very ambitious group of players. There is huge competition across the group and that drives the performance in training sessions.
“So, for the weekend, kick-chase is something we talked about after the game, but across the game we are looking for a better performance.”
The scrum coach also dismissed a one-side record against Gregor Townsend’s side which has seen Ireland win their last 10 meetings, including a run of seven consecutive Six Nations clashes.
“It’s always an unbelievably tough game. They are very dangerous. They have got a world-class backline.
“They have talked about this being a big game for them. This is a big game for us. To go away from home and put a performance together that we can be proud of.”
Fogarty indicated Furlong’s fitness was improving, with Ireland’s next game another 17 days away against Wales in Cardiff on February 22.
"Tadhg is making great progress. I don't know the ins and outs of it, I spoke to the doctor this morning and he has made great progress. There's a really good plan and we'll get him back as soon as he's ready."
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