Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Tadhg Furlong celebrates last weekend in Melbourne.Dan Sheridan/INPHO The Jukebox 'It's amazing' - Furlong to start ninth consecutive Lions Test The 32-year-old Wexford man is a Lions legend. 10.10am, 31 Jul 2025 Share options Murray Kinsella Reports from Sydney LIONS BOSS ANDY Farrell has hailed the influence of Tadhg Furlong on his squad as the tighthead prop gets set to start his ninth consecutive Test for the touring side. Furlong started all three Tests in New Zealand in 2017, did the same on the tour of South Africa in 2021, and will complete his remarkable run this Saturday in Sydney against Australia. Willie John McBride remains the record holder for most successive Lions starts with 15, although Furlong will equal Alun Wyn Jones’ professional era benchmark of nine successive starts. Furlong had an injury-troubled season with Leinster and Ireland but has been in superb form for Farrell’s team Down Under, helping them to clinch the series against the Wallabies last weekend. “It’s amazing, and it’s been well documented how much he loves playing for the Lions,” said Farrell. “Over the last year or 18 months, the continuity of his game and fitness… it just always happens that when this comes around, how much it means to him to get himself in the right frame of mind to be able to do what he’s done. “It isn’t just the performances that have been through the roof. It’s also his manner on a Lions tour as well. I’ve never seen him in such good spirits, so he’s ready to go again.” Advertisement Tadhg Furlong is a Lions legend.Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO The 32-year-old Wexford man has been able to string games together on this tour, something he hadn’t been able to do earlier in the campaign with Leinster and Ireland. “He would tell you that he’s had to adapt his training and how he looks after himself and understanding his body a lot more over the last couple of years,” said Farrell. “But to be honest, he’s unbelievably diligent in all of that. The nature of a tour like this works in somebody like Tadhg’s favour because when you’ve not got a normal week, which is a seven-day process of warming up and warming down and having to do all sorts of stuff to tick boxes, you get out of your own way on a tour like this because you have to just roll with the punches of what’s thrown in front of you.” Lions skipper Maro Itoje will be making his eighth successive Test start for the Lions on Saturday, having played off the bench in his Test debut in 2017. He is another figure whom Farrell praised. “Well, look at the quality of player they are, look at the standing that they have with any group that they represent,” said Farrell. “Those two lads epitomise what it takes to be a top-level international player.” Farrell has made two changes to his starting XV for this weekend’s third Test against the Wallabies at the sold-out Accor Stadium, which holds 82,000 people. Blair Kinghorn comes in on the left wing in place of James Lowe, who drops out of the matchday 23, while James Ryan starts in the second row as Ollie Chessum moves to the bench. Blair Kinghorn will start on the left wing.Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO Farrell confirmed that Joe McCarthy and Mack Hansen didn’t train on Wednesday, adding that the Irish pair and centre Sione Tuipulotu are “probably 85% of the way” towards recovering from injury. “We think that James thoroughly deserves his start,” said Farrell. “I think he’s grown through this tour. His physicality when he has come off the bench, when he has put the jersey on over the last three or four weeks has been there for all to see, so we think he’s the right person to start the Test. “Blair is obviously a great athlete but the unpredictability of his game makes him very dangerous. The conditions that we’re expecting as far as the aerial game is concerned will be at its premium, so I think this game suits him.” Murray Kinsella View 6 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “'It's amazing' - Furlong to start ninth consecutive Lions Test”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “'It's amazing' - Furlong to start ninth consecutive Lions Test”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. 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Leave a commentcancel Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user View our policy ⚠️ Duplicate comment Post Comment have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Tadhg Furlong The Jukebox FreeStateside United cruise over Bournemouth in Premier League US friendly FreeTeam news Monaghan returns as Ireland name team for opening World Cup warm-up clash FreeSwimming McCartney and Shortt Advance to semi-finals in Singapore FreeNewton’s third law 'Just over 54Gs of direct force went through his neck' - Schmidt 'I was trending number one in Ireland on Twitter ahead of Rashford and Coldplay!' Aiming high Moloney-MacDonald: 'We want to leave a legacy from this World Cup' FreeSelection Ryan and Kinghorn start as Farrell's Lions go with 6/2 bench FreeSelection Ryan and Kinghorn start as Farrell's Lions go with 6/2 bench 'Tadhg was like, 'How many times have we been sitting on this bench?'' 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