Ireland Men Continue Six Nations Preparations At Portugal Camp

Tadhg Furlong was the only player not involved in the Ireland squad’s pitch session in Quinta do Lago today, as he continues to rehab the calf injury he sustained while playing for Leinster a couple of weeks ago.

The Campus training facility in the Algarve is the setting as Andy Farrell’s men get down to work ahead of their Guinness Men’s Six Nations opener against France, which is now just a week away.

Furlong remains a doubt for the match against the defending champions, with Ireland backs coach Andrew Goodman saying: “Tadhg was doing some rehab and he is going through his process.

“He will be assessed going through Test week next week, so (he’s) not ruled out. We’re being really cautious with him now, so we can give him the best chance next week.

“He’ll be doing his rehab with the physios on the side, and then we’ll assess him at the start of the Test week.”

Hugo Keenan has flown home after suffering a fractured thumb in training on Tuesday. While disappointed to lose a player of his calibre, especially on his return from hip surgery, Goodman said they still have got ‘great options’ at full-back.

“They’ve been competing out at training the last few days. When you look at Jamie Osborne, who was there for a lot of November, he’s back in contention.

“Jack Crowley has obviously played there for us in bits. Ciarán Frawley has been playing there for Leinster. Jacob Stockdale has been playing there for Ulster, so we’ve got plenty of exciting options that we can have a look at back at 15.”

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