Ireland could learn a thing or two from France’s respect for Conor Murray

Patrick McCarry

Conor Murray gets more respect in France than he does in Ireland.

Over on a recent trip to France, I was talking about Leinster bulking up to combat the likes of La Rochelle and Toulouse. Amid chat of Jason Jenkins and Joe McCarthy coming into the Leinster pack, Conor Murray came up.

“Now,” said an established French international, “you have Conor Murray with a pack like that, you will see a different player.”

Ever since he made his Test debut against Les Bleus, back in 2011, rugby supporters in France have held Murray in high regard. On trips to France for Munster and Ireland matches, supporters and opposition players speak highly of the Limerick man.

Back in 2017, Midi Olympique – the rugby bible for hard-core French fans – awarded him their ‘Oscar’ for player of the year. This came after a season where Murray helped Ireland to victory over the All Blacks by his imperious play and by kicking a vital penalty while Johnny Sexton was getting treatment. He ended that season by being the go-to 9 for the Lions and box-kicking the Kiwis into a world of trouble.

For a long time, especially under Joe Schmidt, the Munster scrumhalf was synonymous with the box-kick. As Ireland coach, Schmidt leaned hard on the kicking game and turned that option into a real attacking weapon. For a while, it seemed like Ireland’s playbook was Murray’s box-kicks, rolling mauls and the ‘Leinster Loop’.

Murray was always capable of playing a higher tempo game, and making more snipes and supporting runs himself, but he was often doing the role Schmidt specifically prescribed for him.

Conor Murray of Ireland during a Six Nations clash against France. (Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile)

Conor Murray proving doubters wrong, again

While Johnny Sexton made his Test debut two years before Conor Murray (and is four years his senior), the Leinster outhalf only properly locked down a place in the Ireland starting XV when the Limerick man was making his breakthrough.

The two men – like chalk and cheese personalities, Peter Stringer and Ronan O’Gara – will be forever linked it each other. While there is a lot of up-tick in that association, it has gone against Murray ever since Sexton got into his early to mid 30s. Both were seen as crusty veterans, with younger alternatives often back.

In 2020, John Cooney was finally set to get a start in the Six Nations at No.9, against Italy, only for the Covid pandemic to delay rugby matches for six months. When the game returned, Cooney was not perfect for Ulster and it was then Murray duelling with Jamison Gibson-Park and Craig Casey.

Anyone that doubted Murray as a fierce competitor, and a guy capable of playing a game that was not heavy on kicking, had their cough softened as he finished 2020/21 on a heater and was selected for the Lions Tour to South Africa. Even those that backed Murray were themselves surprised when Warren Gatland picked him to stand in as captain while Alun Wyn Jones went through his miracle rehab dash.

By the next season, Andy Farrell had settled on Jamison Gibson-Park for the type of up-tempo rugby he wanted, and Leinster did so well. Murray had to settle for the replacement role and one of the men that guided Ireland home. He did that well and that looked to be how he would finish his Test days, up to the World Cup but possibly not beyond.

Then, he proved the doubters wrong again (we’ve lost count by now).

He showed he was well cosy in that quicker style of play that Ireland have made their trademark in the past 12 months. With the forwards humming and getting over the gainline, and with willing runners coming from all angles, he looked as good as he ever did. He even made a few carries himself, to keep the Welsh honest around the breakdown.

Ireland look their best when Gibson-Park is at his best, and the pack are winning the jousts, but Conor Murray is showing what he can do in a team that fires on all cylinders.

Sometimes, you just wish he could get the respect he gets in rugby-mad countries like France and New Zealand that clearly appreciate a quality 9 when they see one.

Catch that debate, and more, in our RugbyJOE show here: