“Ireland have the greatest fly-half pair in world rugby.”
If BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast is anything to go by, England would love to have Conor Murray in their side.
The influential scrum-half has, like many of Ireland teammates, enjoyed a fine Six Nations tournament. Having been a member of the U20 squad when Ireland last won the Grand Slam, in 2009, Murray has been driven by the desire of wanting to achieve such a rare feat.
He’s been playing like he really wants it anyway and, although the Irish media has rightly praised the 28-year-old’s stellar contributions over the last number of weeks, his endeavours in the green shirt have not gone unnoticed in England either.
“Rory Best is the Ireland captain. Was he one of their five best players at the weekend? Not for my money,” Ugo Monye said on Rugby Union Weekly while discussing England’s lack of leadership during their defeat to Scotland.
“But lots of other players stepped up, X Factor, top general players are actually doing their jobs. Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton.”
“Ireland have got perhaps the best half-back combination in world rugby,” Chris Jones added.
“England would have won both those games if Murray and Sexton had have been at half-back.”
“Murray and Sexton? I’m just talking about Murray,” Monye said.
You can listen to the full podcast here.
There was some great interplay between @JohnnySexton and @ConorMurray_9 at the weekend!
Are they in your fantasy team for Round Five? https://t.co/uqkCbwGtaQ pic.twitter.com/YI0IJu7xbB
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 13, 2018
Murray himself says he is relishing the opportunity to clinch a historic Grand Slam at Twickenham on St Patrick’s Day this Saturday.
“We can start talking about it now because that’s what’s in front of us if things go well,” the Munster man said.
“It would be right up there, probably at the top. Only Rob [Kearney] and Rory [Best] are left that have won a slam. The motivation is in our group and it’s about how we avoid the distraction of all that and go about our business like we usually do in a match week with something really special to play for.
“It’s not daunting, it’s a massive occasion, but it’s one this group is going to enjoy and relish. We do have the ability, it’s just about getting that performance together and trying to nail it as best we can.
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