Ireland refuse to declare Tadhg Furlong ready for France despite return to training 

Ireland prop Tadhg Furlong may be fit to face France. Pic: Ben Brady/Inpho

Ireland have welcomed Tadhg Furlong back into their scrummaging sessions but will not declare the tighthead prop ready to face France this Saturday just yet.

Aviva Stadium is set to stage a Guinness Six Nations showdown between the two most consistent teams in the championship over the past three seasons in what promises to be a pivotal penultimate-round meeting for the outcome of the 2025 title race.

Yet speaking on Tuesday following training at the IRFU High Performance Centre, assistant coach John Fogarty issued a cautious status update on Ireland’s first-choice tighthead prop Furlong and the likelihood of captain Caelan Doris and fellow No.8 Jack Conan being available for selection when interim head coach Simon Easterby names his matchday squad on Thursday.

Furlong has not played for Ireland since last summer’s two-Test series in South Africa having missed November’s Autumn Nations Series through injury and then suffering a recurrence of the same calf issue at the pre-Six Nations training camp in Portugal in January.

Scrum coach Fogarty said the whole squad had taken part in training on Tuesday and added: “We've just done scrums just now so it was good to see Tadhg in a scrum, a fully-contested scrum. Tomorrow is the big day but we did some entries today and it was good. So we'll see how he goes.

"He has trained with Leinster, set-piece stuff. He's been building the whole time back. It's one that has to be right for everyone. From my end, it was great to see him back in a scrum, I haven't seen him in a little bit. He was good. Again, we'll see how he goes.

Doris, meanwhile, missed the round-three win over Wales in Cardiff last time out when Ireland secured the Triple Crown and kept alive their hopes of a first Six Nations three-in-a-row of titles with a hard-fought Principality Stadium victory. 

The captain had injured a knee a fortnight earlier in the victory over Scotland in Edinburgh, while Conan, his replacement against the Welsh, took a knock to his back and was replaced at half-time having scored the opening try in a 27-18 victory.

“They took part in the session today and they're all building back to full health, so we'll see,” Fogarty said of the back-row duo before adding: "You'll do the best thing for the team.

“Tomorrow is our big (training) day, you get through that and you're healthy, then we'll see. It's a huge week, isn't it? So you want to do right by the entire squad. 

"You want to pick the best team you can and they'll be monitored throughout the week. Get through tomorrow, etc. and if they're good to go, they're good to go."

Fogarty said Ireland were preparing for a difficult challenge against a physical French side coming off a 73-24 hammering of Italy in Rome two weeks ago that put them back in the title hunt following a narrow defeat in round two to England.

"It's huge,” the Ireland coach said of this Saturday’s match-up. “There's threats everywhere. For us, we're focusing on our performance. 

"It's such an exciting challenge for everyone. There's a buzz within the group for lots of different reasons and nothing focuses the mind like... you could list out their names. They're a world-class team playing with lots of confidence. We're preparing for a battle."