Watch: Outrageous Tadhg Furlong offload

Ireland tighthead prop Tadhg Furlong is known for his skills in the loose, whether soft hands or audacious runs.

During last year’s Six Nations the front-rower went viral when he sidestepped a couple of Scotland defenders and we didn’t have to wait long in this year’s championship for his silky passing to come to the fore.

Midway through the first half of Ireland’s opening match against Wales at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Furlong received the ball in the middle of the field and fired an exquisite offload to Johnny Sexton.

The precision of the pass allowed captain and fly-half Sexton to scythe through the Welsh defence and take Ireland’s attack to within five metres of the line.

You can watch the outrageous Tadhg Furlong offload here…

From that attack Wales conceded a penalty that allowed Sexton to extend Ireland’s lead to 10-0 – and break the personal 500-point mark in the championship.

Bundee Aki had given Ireland an early lead with a try in the third minute, going over in the corner after a long pass from debutant Mack Hansen.

Sexton converted that but a couple of later penalty opportunities went wide as the wind played havoc with the path of the ball.

So it was third time lucky penalty-wise for Sexton to pass that milestone of scoring more than 500 points in the Six Nations.

Ireland dominated that opening period, but led only 10-0 at half-time as they were unable to convert opportunities into points. Their physicality, and particularly the speed with which the back row closed down Welsh ball-carriers, did keep the visitors scoreless though.

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