Tadhg Furlong believes Stuart Lancaster laid foundations that still drive Leinster

FOUNDATIONS: Tadhg Furlong has said Stuart Lancaster’s influence can still be seen within the current Leinster squad. Picture: ©INPHO/Grace Halton

It might be more than two years since he departed the province, but Tadhg Furlong has said Stuart Lancaster’s influence can still be seen within the current Leinster squad.

During the English native’s seven-year spell as senior coach of the side - beginning in 2016 - Leinster enjoyed a considerable amount of on-field success with four consecutive Pro14 titles (2018-2021) being supplemented by a European Champions Cup final triumph against Racing 92 at Bilbao in May 2018.

The ex-England head coach went on to assume the reins of the aforementioned Racing in 2023, but his stint with the Top 14 outfit came to an end in February of this year. Lancaster has since returned to the Irish system to take over at Connacht and his current charges will find themselves in the Aviva Stadium this Saturday to face his former employers in their opening United Rugby Championship encounter of 2026.

“That year in 2016/17 [Lancaster’s first season with Leinster], I was a younger player back then, but he gave us a real belief in what we could do. We obviously lost away to Clermont in the [European] semi-final. It kind of laid the foundations then on the back of it for 2018,” Furlong remarked at a Leinster media briefing earlier this week.

“Like everyone will say, he was a very good fit for Leinster at the time. Particularly the age profile that the squad had as well. There were a lot of younger lads pushing through. How old were we? We would have been 23 or 24. That kind of younger crew. We’re all the older crew now.

“The Academy group [from then] is kind of the middle group, middle upper end of the group. You think of the James Ryan’s and Caelan Doris’, all those kinds of players. His influence still can be seen a lot in the squad.” 

In stark contrast to the 24 appearances he made throughout successful 2017/18 campaigns for both Leinster and Ireland, injuries restricted Furlong to a combined eight outings for province and country last season.

However, the Wexford man left this frustration behind him to feature on no fewer than seven occasions (including in all three Test matches) during the British & Irish Lions’ tour of Australia last summer.

The tighthead prop also saw action in three of the four games Ireland played in the November international window and last Saturday’s win over Munster at Thomond Park in the URC was his fifth game of the current term for Leinster.

33 years of age since the middle of last month, Furlong acknowledged he feels in good shape at the moment and revealed managing his training load is starting to become a major part of his weekly preparation for games.

“It’s trying to get to Saturday and just be very careful looking at the numbers in terms of running. How far you run and how long you spend on your feet. Some days, as an older member of the squad, you just have to be careful how far you push,” Furlong added.