Mike Ross’ mentoring of Tadhg Furlong is everything that is good about Irish rugby

It's all about the collective.

If there was ever a sole philosophy which encompasses this Irish team then it would be the term, the 'team collective'. We often hear these soundbites and terms of phrase from the Irish players and management when it comes to answering often uncomfortable questions surrounding team selection, player form or personal ambitions within the team. Sometimes it may be perceived as repetitive, or a mechanism in which to avoid answering a question but it is nevertheless relevant and applicable to Joe Schmidt's side. The perfect example of this which typifies this philosophy has been the dramatic emergence of Wexford's Tadhg Furlong. In such a short period of time, the 24-year-old has become one of the superstars of Irish rugby, endearing himself to the Irish rugby public with his powerful displays both in the scrum and in the loose. Of course, one man's gain is another man's loss, and this couldn't be more applicable to long serving Irish and Leinster tighthead, Mike Ross. The former Harlequins player has seen his time in a green shirt limited over the last number of months, with his last appearance in green coming in Ireland's final Test match against the Springboks last summer. However, as much as Ross is determined to get back into Schmidt's side, he understands the need to mentor younger players, even if they are vying for his place in the squad.

"It’s a squad game, so, you can’t play every minute, especially in the front-row. "You got this young talented guy coming up and you know he’s going to be good and there’s two ways you can go. You can go ‘right, I’m not talking to you at all’ or you can teach him a couple of things because the squad needs it and you need it," Ross told SportsJOE's The Hard Yards. 

When host, Andy McGeady, asked Ross on what makes Furlong such a good tighthead, he revealed that it was his willingness to learn which makes him really thrive and Ross himself played a key role in that, advising Furlong on how to improve his technique.

"Tadhg was always willing to learn too, he never thought he knew everything. He would pull me in, have a sit down and we’d go through some video to see where he could improve...change his feet positioning. If you remember he had a tough time out in the Six Nations this time last year and he went away and worked on it and he hasn’t looked back since."

Ross' honesty when speaking about the player who is now ahead of him for both country and province is incredibly honest and admirable. It is definitely the perfect example of the 'team collective' philosophy which characterises Irish rugby. Subscribe to SportsJOE's rugby podcast, The Hard Yards, on iTunes and listen to Ross' full interview in Episode 3 below.