Furlong 'not quite' ready but Farrell backing Bealham to make an impact

Andy Farrell says Tadhg Furlong came just short of being named in the Ireland team for Saturday's Guinness Six Nations opener against Wales in Cardiff.

The Leinster tighthead has been sidelined with a calf injury since early December, and while he did train this week with the squad at their Quinta do Lago base in Portugal, the game at the Principality Stadium has just come too soon for him.

However, the Ireland head coach says he's confident Furlong will be fit for the 11 February visit of France to the Aviva Stadium.

"At this stage, yeah, he's had a good few sessions under his belt now," Farrell said.

"He’s got a bit more progress to go but we’ll continue that over the coming days and see how we roll into the beginning of next week.

"He's not quite ready. In fact, he's progressing pretty well but he's not quite there yet. He could possibly be there in the next few days or week or whatever."

With Furlong absent, Connacht's Finlay Bealham (above) will win his 28th cap, with Tom O'Toole drafted onto the bench.

Bealham has emerged as the regular backup for Furlong in the past two seasons, playing in all five games of last season's tournament, and featuring in both of Ireland's Test wins against New Zealand last summer.

The 31-year-old earned huge credit following Ireland's win against South Africa in November, replacing the injured Furlong at half time, and producing one of his best Irish performances as they ground out a 19-16 win against the world champions.

"We just think that Finlay deserves it as well. He's playing some outstanding rugby at this moment in time. The last game he played, he scored a hat-trick, he's scrummaging very well, so he deserves a start.

"Tadhg will keep working away to hopefully be fit for the French