Tadhg Furlong explains why Ireland are wary of Tongan threat

Tadhg Furlong understands exactly what Tonga's World Cup opener means to their players - and expects nothing to come easy in Nantes tonight.

Furlong speaks of the privilege it is to be picked for a second pool game at these finals for Ireland, words that echoed those of Johnny Sexton at the team announcement the day before.

But he also sees what makes this occasion so special for a Tonga squad usually not together for a prolonged period of time.

"Of course we respect Tonga and their players," said Furlong. "You think of where they’re coming in from, it’s their first game of the World Cup.

"The players play all over the world and it must be special for them to get a bunch of them in a room to gel and bond for a prolonged pre-season.

"We're quite lucky we get to do it the majority of time in Ireland.

"It’s a special tournament for them, to spend it with their countrymen over a long time. Of course we respect them."

The nearest Ireland have had to the Tongan challenge that awaits is the one that came in the final warm-up against Samoa, a tight game that went down to the wire before Ireland kept their unbeaten record intact.

“There was a lot to learn in it," said Furlong. "They probably came off best in a few contact areas and the rain made it hard.

"So there’s always stuff that can come out of it but I think the way the lads stuck in there and found a way to get the result was the biggest thing for us.

“We know it’s not easy, nothing’s easy, rugby ain’t easy. It’s just about sticking in there and taking your moments when they come.”

Ireland are expecting Tonga to produce the kind of performance that saw big underdogs Uruguay scare France in Lille.

"We all probably watched that game and were really impressed with the way Uruguay played," said Ireland's defence coach Simon Easterby.

"They didn’t give France a moment to settle into the game and get into their rhythm and they played some really good attacking rugby themselves.

“So we know these teams have limited time together outside of World Cup cycles and then in the World Cup cycle they get that 10-12 week period together and they become a really quality outfit.

"At other times in the four-year cycle, by virtue of the way things are, they get little time together and they don’t have that time to gel.

“But we know that the likes of Uruguay and other teams in their position become stronger and stronger in this period and we’re expecting a similar type of game tomorrow night in the way Tonga want to play.

"They attack well but they certainly want to come and hit and put us off our rhythm.”

Easterby acknowledged: "They (Tonga) have got some of the best open field runners in world rugby."