Tadhg Furlong is the darling of Irish rugby, with the Wexford prop backing up his world class ability on the pitch with a down-to-Earth personality off it.
The Irishman has been the leading tighthead prop in world rugby for some time now, and has been a pivotal player in the national team's success in recent years.
Furlong is also a bit of a joker - as showcased by his recent interview with World Rugby's YouTube series 'The Openside'. Furlong sat down with Christina Mahon at Dunbrody House in Wexford - only a few kilometres from where the Leinster star grew up.
The 30-year-old spoke about his upbringing, his decision to play rugby, and most intriguingly the greatest lie he had ever told - a lie involving chicken goujons which he continues to catch friends out with to this day.
Tadhg Furlong shares story of greatest lie he ever told
One of the questions put to Tadhg Furlong on World Rugby's interview show 'The Openside' is what the greatest lie he has ever told is.
Furlong's answer went into completely unexpected - and hilarious - territory, as he detailed how one stray remark from a friend flicked a lightbulb in Furlong's brain to create a long-running gag about chicken goujons.
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Furlong says that he invented a lie that the "goujon" was actually a body part of a chicken, rather than a name for the way to serve it:
We were at a birthday party, a 21st in the rugby club in Ross. My friends will know this story - we were queuing up, the goujons, the cocktail sausages were out and everything.
A town fella from Ross behind us said 'ah, goujons, my favourite part of the chicken!'
I got this in my head about five years later, and I started convincing people that goujons actually are a part of the chicken.
I'd go 'you know the chicken breast, it is a part of a chicken!' You get the chicken breast and there's a little sliver of meat at the back of it - that extra bit is the goujon. People believe it!
I quite enjoy that - feed them lies and see if they'll believe it.
We can't say we were ready for Tadhg Furlong's chicken goujon story, but the image of him convincing half of Wexford that chickens have a body part called a goujon is a brilliant one.
It's in keeping with the light atmosphere of Furlong's chat with World Rugby, and he gave some fascinating insight into his decision to choose rugby over either code of GAA as a child.
Growing up in a small community in Wexford, Furlong said that everyone in his school was expected to play GAA. Nonetheless, despite his love for the Yellowbellies hurling and football team, he chose the sport that he was "obsessed" with as a child:
I just love sport, number one. My mum tells stories about me practising lineout lifting her - I can't remember any of this - or me trying to tackle her in the kitchen, stuff like that.
I remember being obsessed with the Six Nations - the same way I was about Wexford hurling and football, I suppose. I was particularly obsessed with Irish rugby.
I fixated on it, wanted to do it. I just wanted to play rugby and wanted to play rugby for Ireland. My father was coaching an age group in Ross, and I remember going to training with him, and going to matches with him - I was even trying to talk to the players he was coaching, they're all grown up now but they said I was the biggest pain in the arse ever! An 8- or 9-year-old out in the middle of their training session trying to tackle them!
We can only imagine how good Tadhg Furlong would have been as a hurler or footballer - but, given everything he has done in a green jersey, we are thrilled he chose rugby instead.
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