Leinster scrum coach John Fogarty has backed Tadhg Furlong to make a name for himself on the international stage.

Furlong was on the bench for Ireland’s opening two RBS Six Nations games but was on Guinness Pro12 duty last weekend — as Joe Schmidt’s lost 21-10 defeat to England in Twickenham.

Fogarty revealed that the 23-year-old was disappointed to miss out on the trip to England but believes the prop has all the attributes to be a success at the top level.

“I think he has it. You know, he’s done well. He is a young prop and there is always a learning curve. There’s different things in that French game as well that were in play in the scrum, so Tadhg will assess that. We’ve looked at it, he’s come back here and he’s performed well for us. He’s very highly thought of here in Leinster and he’s performing quite well for us.”

He added: “There’s always some disappointment for sure (at being omitted); you can’t say he’s delighted to be back here. There’s some disappointment that he’s not involved but Tadhg is very realistic, and he wants to play week-in, week-out, so for him to come back here and get an opportunity to play, he’s happy to come back. He’s done well for us at the weekend.”

Leo Cullen still has a number of internationally capped players within his squad during the Six Nations window. One such talent is Sean Cronin, who made a brief appearance against Wales at the Aviva Stadium on February 7, but has been involved in three games with his province since then.

“He was involved in that first game for the Six Nations. Sean is going very well for us. You would have to ask Joe and the Irish management where he’s held with them. He’s come on and done very well for us. He’s come off the bench and given us really good impact. He started against Ulster at home and he started against Munster away and he had a cracking game. We’re not going to pigeon-hole Sean and say that’s where he belongs or it’s the only way we’re going to use him.

“We’ve used him as a starter. We’ve used him off the bench. He can give impact in both. I wouldn’t pigeon-hole him. He’s a quality international player that has huge talent.”