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Furlong braces for scrum onslaught

rugby19 July 2021 13:36| © SuperSport
By:Brenden Nel
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Tadhg Furlong © Getty Images

The British and Irish Lions are getting ready for a scrum onslaught ahead of Saturday’s first test against the Springboks in Cape Town


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Tadhg Furlong, who is expected to pack down at tighthead for the tourists, believes the scrum will provide his side with the ultimate test.

The Boks didn’t really give away much in the SA A game against the tourists, and while Trevor Nyakane looked short of game time, Steven Kitshoff is expected to start the test match and should be a much tougher proposition for the Lions.

And Furlong knows this is the spot the test will be won or lost.

“It’s big boy rugby, isn’t it?” he smiled when asked during his press conference on Monday.

“Top-end rugby. As a front five, it’s a very good barometer of where we’re at.”

And he has no doubt how much the scrum will mean for the Springboks.

“It’s so ingrained in their DNA, that scrum dominance, the maul dominance, it’s a huge challenge for whatever forward pack and whatever subs are selected,” he adds

“It’s one of the great things about playing a Test series in South Africa. I think the lads will be hugely up for it.”

The Leinster prop has been one of the outstanding players in the Lions side on this tour and knows all too well that the Boks will want to use their scrum as a weapon, much like they did in the World Cup.

“You’re coming up against a passionate crew who take pride in their work and art at scrum time. Yes, we’ve not been playing the Springboks, we’ve been playing the provincial teams or the franchises, but they still take massive pride in their scrum and they’re big men.

“It’s been tough, it’s been a good workout for us, it’s been a good challenge and it’s trying to get on the same page very, very quickly and getting the feel of the scrum really, that would be the big thing for me because it does take time to create a better partnership.”

Furlong has pretty much cemented the tighthead spot as his own, and is a much more mature player than the 2017 version in New Zealand. And to be better drives him.

“At that point, you are probably a deer in the headlights a small bit in terms of Test rugby and what it meant. I was probably fairly green.

“I like to think that I have added a bit to my game. I’m certainly not there where I can be regarding certain aspects but that is part of being a rugby player; you’re always trying to push it on, drive on and get that little bit better.”

But on Saturday there will be nowhere to hide. And whoever comes out on top will go a long way at controlling not only the tempo, but also likely the result of the first test.

And that, it seems, will all come back to the setpiece.

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