Tadhg Furlong will make his first start of the Six Nations this Saturday against England, having returned off the bench for Ireland in last weekend’s nervy win over Italy.
The Leinster prop missed the dour opening night defeat in Paris as a result of the calf injury he picked up in Leinster’s dramatic late Champions Cup win over Bayonne last month.
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His return last weekend was a major boost for head coach Andy Farrell, though arguably his most notable contribution on the pitch was a rather unfortunate one.
After Robert Baloucoune’s superb try had put Ireland ten points to the good in the second half, Farrell’s side found themselves defending a scrum just outside their 22.
With 15 minutes to play, the pressure was on, and the scrum was soon to collapse – but not in the downward manner one might expect.
Tadhg Furlong gets airlifted🙃pic.twitter.com/Wktu2QPQZi
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) February 14, 2026
In a bizarre scene, tighthead Furlong was forced upwards by the push from Italian Mirco Spagnolo, and eventually went airborne. He then stumbled to the ground with the help of Spagnolo and Ireland teammate James Ryan.
Furlong was penalised for the incident, from which Paolo Garbisi would score – the final three points of the game.
It was a symbol of how dysfunctional Ireland’s scrum was all day in the Aviva, and a credit to the power of the Italian drive at set plays.
However, Spagnolo himself has lamented the manner in which the incident has been discussed online, saying that a “legend” of the sport such as Furlong does not deserve to be the subject of widespread memes.
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Italian prop defends Tadhg Furlong after airborne scrum moment
Italian prop Mirco Spagnolo faced the media this week, and was asked about the incident that saw him come to a head with Tadhg Furlong last weekend.
Though there were some who felt Spagnolo should have been penalised for driving the scrum upwards, it was ultimately one of his strongest moments in a brave Italian performance.
Despite this, though, Spagnolo chose to defend his Irish counterpart, saying he felt the ‘meme-ing’ of the incident online had gone “too far,” saying he was disappointed with the disrespect towards a player of Furlong’s renown.
I’m sorry because I think it’s going a bit too far. The video of the scrum is one thing, but I’m also seeing a lot of memes that I think are disrespectful. We’re talking about Furlong, a legend of the sport.
The sporting aspect is one thing, and I understand the desire to highlight the strength of our scrum, but when you go beyond that and create memes to ridicule a prop who made rugby history, it’s not right.
Perhaps not the line of questioning – or the tone of answer – we might have expected from the Italian press conference.
Spagnolo and the Azzurri will hope to return to winning ways this weekend, but they have the unenviable task of facing unbeaten France on the road, with a trip to Lille ahead on Sunday afternoon.
Tadhg Furlong, meanwhile, will start alongside Jeremy Loughman and Dan Sheehan in the front row as Ireland face England at Twickenham at 2:10pm on Saturday.
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