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The reality of Tadhg Furlong's IRFU contract negotiations
By Neil Fissler
Tadhg Furlong is in the final year of his contract and will soon have to decide his future. This decision will have a profound effect on his relationship with Ireland and Leinster, whom he has served with distinction for over a decade.
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The tight-head, who will be celebrating his 32nd birthday in November, has been capped 78 times by Ireland and another seven for the Lions after Warren Gatland took on the 2017 tour to New Zealand and South Africa in 2021.
Furlong, who grew up in a farming family in Wexford, is closing in on 150 appearances for Leinster and is understood to be one of if not Ireland’s highest-paid player, picking up around €600,000 a season from his central contract.
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But some very well-placed sources in Ireland have told us that this is likely to be as good as it will get and that contract offers from the IRFU begin to tail off once a player moves into their thirties.
IRFU Performance Director David Humphreys is unlikely to be any different from his predecessor, David Nucifora, and there won’t be any change to the policy that appears to have served them well.
“Furlong has had his biggest paycheck. I’m sure David Humphreys is trying to make sure they (contract offers) are not above a certain threshold,” our sources have told us.
So that leaves Furlong at a crossroads about what to do next. Does he stay in Ireland but accept a pay cut, or does he look elsewhere, France or even Japan, where he would get a decent payday but would end his international career.
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Furlong’s CV is doing the rounds in France, and there have been suggestions that he has opened talks with Bayonne, which one of our contacts across the Channel believes to be somewhat wide of the mark.
“I have no doubts that he is looking in France as a way of stuffing the offer that is coming his way, but Bayonne, even if they were interested, which I’m not sure they are, won’t match what he is currently earning in Ireland.”
Given the depth chart behind him, or lack thereof, I’d say he is in a pretty decent position to negotiate a ‘have your cake and eat it’ kinda deal, similar to the one sexton had??
Finlay Bealham has been pushing for the starting jersey for the last few seasons, especially whenever Furlong was injured, but Tadhg has nailed it down in the last few months. Beyond those 2, Oli Jager is coming through and shows promise and Tom O'Toole will still cover tighthead even with his switch to loosehead.
So Furlong is definitely the starter, but his negotiating position wouldn't be as strong as Andrew Porter's (who often plays 70 minutes or more for Ireland).