Twenty minutes into his seasonal return on a wet night in the Sportsground, Tadhg Furlong had to stoop to catch a pass from scrumhalf Cormac Foley virtually from the ground.
Furlong gathered, straightened up and pulled the ball behind him for Ross Byrne. It was ridiculous really, and seemed to happen almost unnoticed, but then again, we’ve long since become accustomed to such handling skills from the most skilful tighthead Irish rugby has ever produced.
In keeping with his status as a 60-times capped Ireland international and two-time Lion and ever-present in successive Lions Test series, Furlong was removed at half-time last week in a pre-ordained decision.
He thus goes into this evening’s meeting with Munster at the Aviva Stadium and the opening November Test against South Africa a fortnight hence primed by 40 minutes of rugby – the least of any of the injury-free summer tourists across the provinces.
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“The first game is always a bit of a blow-out. It didn’t feel too bad all things considered in terms of the lungs and legs and all that crack. I suppose you only appreciate how cold and wet and windy it was when you come out in the second half and you are sitting on a wooden bench. But I was delighted to be back.”
It’s rare enough when Furlong is afforded what he calls a good, full pre-season and in advance of a campaign featuring the November series, the Six Nations as well as Leinster hoping to again maintain their campaign on two fronts long into next May, he says he feels the better for it.
“It’s good to get a proper good body of work into the body. I would have had a few knocks and niggles coming off the end of last season, as is the way playing rugby, I suppose, nowadays.
“So, it was nice to get a good opportunity to put a bit of time and work in with the physios, and the strength and conditioning lads, and all those lovely people. So, the body is feeling good; hopefully ready to go for a good season ahead.”
He sounds genuinely excited about the latest instalment of Leinster v Munster rivalry. Nor does he feel it has lost any of its edge or importance.
“Not to us anyway. I don’t get a feeling outside the camp that it has either. It’s such a one-off game, you know what I mean? It’s a big game. It stands alone. It stands outside tournament points, it stands outside league points.
“Even when you see Liverpool-Man City, or whatever, last weekend, you know it’s a big one-off game. I think that’s what’s exciting, not only for the group but it’s exciting for the fan-base, the people as well. And you can’t get around that.”
The rich history of this fixture also demands respect.
“It goes before my time, it goes back a long, long way and I think that’s just the way it is. It’s a big game. It’s a big game for us. It’s a big game for them. Absolutely.”
As a boy who grew up in Wexford, just 14 miles or so from Waterford, he was always acutely aware of the rivalry.
“I’m obviously from the border really, looking across into Waterford boy, and Munster jerseys around and Leinster jerseys. It’s always been a thing in my life, even in the rugby club in New Ross, so you grew up around it as much as anything.”
There are still Munster jerseys around New Ross RFC, but not as many as when he was a kid.
“You wouldn’t see it with the young lads in the club. But you’ll have a few alickadoos now with the Munster jersey on, the ‘08 or ‘09 jersey with Toyota. Obviously, my mother is from Cork as well.”
The first Leinster-Munster game he attended was a fairly monumental one too, the Heineken Champions Cup semi-final at Croke Park in 2009 in front of a then world record 82,208, when the shift in the balance of power in Irish provincial rugby was sealed by Brian O’Driscoll’s try.
“I was down in the student section. I remember going nuts when he intercepted the ball and went the length; well, three-quarters of the way.”
Furlong’s first experience as a player in this derby also demands his respect for Munster. It was in the corresponding fixture eight years ago this month, when Munster ended Leinster’s 13-game winning run at the Aviva in this competition with a 34-23 victory despite having four players sinbinned, Ian Keatley scoring 21 points.
“I came off the bench I think, right? If I do remember correctly Rossi came off early and I came on and a minimum of maybe 15 minutes or less, I think, you may check now. I think Benty came on and played tight-head.”
Close. Furlong came on in the 50th minute for Mike Ross, but lasted only five minutes before departing for an HIA and didn’t return, with Ed Byrne coming on and Michael Bent switching to tight-head.
Furlong was on the losing side again when Munster completed their last double over Leinster at Thomond Park in their traditional St Stephen’s Day meeting in that 2014-15 season. But, overall, he has been on the winning side on nine occasions, while also losing four.
Oddly, having played against Munster 11 times in a row, Furlong has missed seven of the last nine meetings for one reason or another, which also heightens his sense of anticipation for this one.
Sitting atop the table again, on five wins out of five, Furlong accepts that Leinster are in a good place “on the scoreboard” anyway.
“I think a lot of lads have gone well and a lot of players have started at different times in the season, and we are so short into it really. But this is it now. This is a huge test for us, and I think if we’re being perfectly honest we haven’t properly hit our straps. So, there’s an opportunity this weekend to put our best out there.”
Knowing so many of the Munster players also obliges him to always give them the fullest respect.
“You are teammates with a lot of their players for a good part of the season as well. So, you’ve a lot of respect for them. Obviously, I don’t know the inner workings of Munster rugby. I have never played for them – you should ask James Ryan that,” he quips, in reference to Ryan being co-opted onto a Munster Development side against the Irish Under-20s in May 2017 prior to making his Irish debut on that summer’s tour to Japan.
“But you know the players, you respect the players, you respect how much Munster means to them as well, how much Munster means to the fans et cetera.”
That said, Furlong says the tour to New Zealand “seems like ages ago now”, albeit the achievement of winning a series in New Zealand was immense, while interestingly he maintains: “I don’t necessarily think we played our best rugby, or were as good as we could be, but to go there and win the series, especially when you’re 1-0 down, it shows a bit about yourself, I think.”
But he’s parked the November series.
“I won’t lie to you, I genuinely haven’t even thought about it. I was just trying to get out on the pitch last week and trying to get out there again this week and, try to be as good as you can. And get back up to speed fast.”
Heck, it’s Leinster-Munster. The world champions can wait.
