Leinster have been boosted by Tadhg Furlong's decision to sign a three year IRFU contract to remain at the province until June 2021.
The tighthead made his Ireland debut against Wales in the 2015 Guinness Summer Series before being named in the squad for 2015 Rugby World Cup. The Campile native featured against Romania in that tournament and went on to make his Six Nations debut the following spring featuring off the bench against the Welsh.
In June 2016, Furlong replaced Mike Ross to help Ireland secure a famous victory over the Springboks in Cape Town and later that year would start in Chicago as Ireland recorded their first ever win over New Zealand. He started every game of the 2017 Six Nations Championships and has gone on to win 19 caps for his country thus far.
Selected for the 2017 British and Irish Lions squad, Furlong was the starting tighthead for all three Test matches against New Zealand last summer.
The 25-year-old made his debut for Leinster against Newport Gwent Dragons in November 2013 and has won 73 caps for the province scoring four tries.
IRFU director of high performance, David Nucifora, commented, "As a young prop still learning his trade Tadhg has shown enormous growth over the past 18 months. He learned a lot from his experience at the World Cup and has kicked on since that tournament to produce consistently impressive performances for Ireland, Leinster and the Lions."
Furlong himself added; “I am delighted to have signed a contract with the IRFU to continue to play with Leinster. I got a number of opportunities over the past few seasons that have helped me to develop as a player and I want to continue to develop and be successful with both Leinster and Ireland.”
Mick Dawson, CEO Leinster Rugby commented, "This is great news for Leinster and Ireland. Tadhg is a product of the Leinster Youths system and has come through New Ross, into our age grade system into our senior team and now to the highest honours with Ireland and the Lions.
“His signature is a huge boost as we look to build in the coming seasons. Securing home grown and young talent like Tadhg is a key part of the Leinster way.”
