Six Nations: Ireland’s Tadhg Furlong ready to deliver at scrum time

Ireland prop Tadhg Furlong’s focus is on scrummaging ahead of their clash with France in Paris despite the front-rower showing off his distribution skills against Wales last weekend.

Furlong put in a dynamic display in the 29-7 win both in the scrum and with ball in hand as Ireland made it nine wins on the spin.

However, the 29-year-old is only focused on delivering a masterclass in the scrum against France and will lose sleep if he does not.

“The scrum is such a personal thing to a front rower. It’s the most important thing.” Furlong said.

“Everyone talks about everything else, this and that, but if you can’t scrummage you’re no good to anyone.

“It’s your primary job. If it doesn’t go well it’s a tough day.

“I always say that scrummaging is the best thing in the world if it’s going well but, by God, you’ll stay awake at night when it doesn’t.”

The man from Wexford did show his skill with ball in hand with a sumptuous pass to captain Johnny Sexton against Wales but the hype is lost on him.

“You can’t do it on your own, you know?

“Like, ‘rugby player passes the ball’, yeah…but I’ve been passing the ball since I was four. So, I should in theory be able to do it.

“It’s the detail in the way that you do it, that probably makes the difference though.

“You’re always practising your catch-pass, be that in Leinster or in Ireland – there’s no excuse for being a prop and not doing that nowadays.

“Look, I’ve been playing rugby since I was four or five, so I’d want to be able to pass the ball a metre, wouldn’t I?

“I don’t probably view it as sitting defenders down. I’m just playing the game, to be honest.

“It’s the way it has gone really. You have to be able to throw your hand at it. In terms of the game itself, it’s only a small