Double blow for Leinster, including a worrying update about one of their Lions picks
Tadhg Furlong salutes the Leinster fans following a match in April
Leinster’s search for a first trophy since 2021 has been complicated by setbacks for Tadhg Furlong, one of their dozen 2025 British and Irish Lions picks, and Robbie Henshaw.
Eliminated from the Investec Champions Cup at the semi-final stage earlier this month, the Irish province picked up the pieces in the United Rugby Championship with home wins over Zebre and Glasgow.
Henshaw, though, played just 23 minutes of that May 17 win over the Warriors at Aviva Stadium and will now miss the play-offs due to injury. The unavailability of Furlong, meanwhile, will leave Lions fans worrying about his durability for the upcoming tour to Australia.
A starter in all six Test games against New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa in 2021, the tighthead has endured a frustrating injury-hit 2024/25 season for Leinster and Ireland.
His 53-minute Champions Cup run against the Saints on May 3 was just his seventh club appearance this season while his only Ireland cap came off the bench away to Italy in mid-March.
“Furlong is unavailable for selection this week…”
This lack of action didn’t prevent Andy Farrell from including him in the 38-strong Lions squad named on May 8 just days after the Leinster cup loss to Northampton.
However, his non-involvement in the subsequent league games against Zebre and Glasgow (where he was an unused replacement) has now been followed by the confirmation that Furlong will not be available for this Saturday’s quarter-final at home to the Scarlets.
A Leinster statement read: “Jordan Larmour is due to step up the final stages of his rehabilitation this week and a final decision will be made on his availability later in the week. Tadhg Furlong is unavailable for selection this week having picked up a minor calf injury.
“Robbie Henshaw has been ruled out of action for the next three to four weeks with a knee injury, which will rule him out of action for the remainder of the Leinster season. There is no further update on Will Connors, Brian Deeny, James Culhane and Caelan Doris.”
