Everyone that has ever come across Conor Murray will tell you two things – he’s a lovely fella and he seriously works his rear off to be as good as he is.
Here is a lad who, at 21, shifted not one but two Ireland scrum-halves out of his way to grab the Munster No.9 shirt.
A lad that didn’t stop there and, now 28, is set for a major role in his second British & Irish Lions tour.
But it has come at a cost. Of course it has.
Ireland teammate Garry Ringrose recently spoke about foregoing the nights out and WhatsApp groups to focus on developing his game. Murray is of the same mind-set and has been on the grind for seven professional seasons, with plenty of work put in at underage level too.
Murray spoke with The Hard Yards about the work and training that goes on aside from the day-to-day work and training. He also spoke [from 43:00] about steering clear of temptations, parties and nights out that regular twentysomethings taken as a given.
“There’s an awful lot that you have to do that people don’t see,” said Murray.
“My first few years in the academy and with Garryowen, and Young Munster were really important in terms of my development. A massive thing for me was playing senior rugby for Young Munster and Garryowen at a young age. It’s nearly sink or swim at that level and, thankfully, I managed to stay afloat… just about!”
Stepping up to the Munster Academy was another huge challenge but Murray quickly found a mentor that would have a big effect on his career.
“For a scrum-half, passing and kicking are your basics and that is something I always enjoyed doing anyway. I went into the [Munster] academy and started working with Greig Oliver, who was a great scrum-half in his day, and I learned an awful lot from him. I still work with him, to this day.”
The weekly training drills and extras have been adapted and augmented over the years but Murray, as teammates and coaches will tell you, remains as eager as ever.
He has also learned when to say yes and, mostly, no to offers of nights out and party invites.
“It’s definitely a sacrifice for me but, genuinely, I love training and feeling healthy.
“Definitely, there are times when you want to go out for a few pints with your friends or there’s a big concert on, or a big event on. Recently, the Kinsale 7s was on and I couldn’t go down to it, because I was trying to look after myself and get back to playing rugby.
“But you are getting Snapchats from the lads and they are having the time of their lives down there.
“At times that is very difficult but the trade-off is we are very lucky to get to do what we do. It genuinely is like that. We are very lucky and I love what I do. You get to play in front of massive crowds and play the game you love.
“When people ask you is it tough to miss out on all that stuff, it’s not at all… Sometimes you have to miss out on weddings or stags, which is just unfortunate, but, on the other side, you wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
It’s tough but it’s not tough.
Tough when you’re bunking in early on Saturday night, before a Sunday afternoon kick-off. It’s not so tough when you’re out there, in the height of it, doing exactly what you always dreamed of doing.
Murray recently helped relaunch MaxiMuscle’s range of protein bars in Ireland.Murray was honoured by his fellow professionals, on May 10, when he was awarded the Rugby Players Ireland Players’ Player of the Year.
The hard work has paid off. It continues to pay off.
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