Many have Ireland trending downwards with an ageing side
There has been a lot of talk of an ‘underdone’ Ireland going into the Autumn Internationals, and transition phase for Irish rugby after years of prosperity.
A potentially ageing squad in the run-up to the 2027 World Cup squad has many concerned, but Conor Murray has the opposite view.
Many are seeing the upcoming series against New Zealand (Saturday), Japan (November 8), Australia (November 15) and South Africa (November 22) as a chance to bed in young blood.
And speaking on BBC’s Ireland Rugby Social Podcast, Murray feels Ireland are trending upwards to create history in 2027.
Ireland have never reached a World Cup semi-final, reaching four successive quarter-finals.
“This group will continue on trending upwards as an Irish team,” Murray said.
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“The experience the lads would have had on the Lions Tour and (Andy) Farrell will bring it back and he doesn’t accept staying at the same level.
“He will look at the positions, 10 being obvious with two unbelievable talents. There’s a few more in the background too – they are going to push each other to crazy high standards.
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“The main thing is that the competition in the squad is huge. It will keep the machine going. When I retired, I was at peace with it because I had hung on long enough but the one thing in my head was that this team was going to keep on winning trophies and big games.
“The World Cup was way too far way to me but when it does come around I think we will witness something that hasn’t been done.”
