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The Ireland reason why 2021 Lions captain Murray is left on bench

(Photo by Ian Rutherford/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Andy Farrell has explained why Ireland elected to go into their Autumn Nations Series battle versus the All Blacks this Saturday with Conor Murray, the 2021 Lions tour captain when Alun Wyn Jones out injured, held in reserve on the replacements bench for the second weekend in a row. The 32-year-old flew out of Edinburgh last June having been appointed skipper by Warren Gatland after Jones was ruled out of the South African trip with an injury versus Japan.  

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The enormity of the appointment seemed to affect Murray’s form as he only made the bench for the opening Test, by which stage Jones had miraculously recovered and had flown over to Cape Town to resume the captaincy for the series versus the Springboks. 

Murray did bounce back to be the starting No9 in the second Test but he was again benched for the series-deciding third Test, losing his battle once more to Ali Price and that No2 status now mirrors his current position in the pecking order with Ireland. 

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The Munster scrum-half had started in 81 of his 89 Ireland caps coming into this year’s Autumn Nations as he had long been the preferred starter under Declan Kidney, Joe Schmidt and initially Farrell. It was last November when there was the first inkling that his status might change as Jamison Gibson-Park was picked to start the Nations Cup games versus Wales and England with Murray consigned to the bench.

However, he fired back from that situation in the Six Nations to restore his reputation as the Ireland No1 scrum-half but he is now battling a rival who is suddenly far more comfortable with the demands of Test level rugby than he was a year ago and it left Murray winning his 90th Ireland cap from the bench last weekend.

That left Gibson-Park free to kill Japan in the opening 19 minutes, two slick passes and a clever kick in behind creating the opening three Ireland tries and he went on to score the fourth try himself in a coming of age performance by the 29-year-old from New Zealand who will now start against his native country. “We thought Jamison played really well and deserves another shot at starting,” reckoned Farrell.

“He is more comfortable in his own skin at this level now, his maturity and his leadership have gone through the roof at this type of level and I thought he had an excellent game last week, so he gets the chance again.”

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Ireland will take the field on Saturday in Dublin with the same line-up that was announced on Thursday after a virus test scare on Friday was put to bed without the loss of any of their players. Their only starting XV change from last week’s win over Japan they had announced was Iain Henderson coming in at second row for fellow Lions tour pick Tadhg Beirne. 

“We thought that last week that Tadhg was better suited to the Japan game and we feel that at the start of this game Iain is better suited to start,” explained Farrell. “One hundred per cent Tadhg played really well last week. He will come on in whatever position it is and finish the game really well for us.”

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M
Mzilikazi 1 hour ago
The numbers show Super Rugby Pacific just got even tougher

I’m not confident that our Australian sides will set“ the heather on fire” this year, as they say in Scotland, or probably in some households, Dunedin too. Starting with Qld., They should, with the roster they have, be the team to beat in Australia, and a tough assignment for any of the NZ teams, either side of the Tasman.


But so far they have been erratic, brilliant plays interspersed with poor handling, poor decision making, and sheer stupidity. The latter highlighted by both McReight and Daugunu, albeit in different games, handling the ball at the ruck, when lying on the ground. Would like to see a “stupidity fine” for such actions, say $1000.00 for first offence…and that is a serious comment.


I would see this weekend in Christchurch as a tough one for the Reds, especially without LSL still, and now Flook and Uru. Any team with Will Jordan has to be respected.


The Waratahs sit on two wins, but by 1 and five points only. Their roster is strong, but still they don’t look a cohesive team yet. The Force are a far better team this year, and could well cause an upset in this upcoming game.


I think the Brumbies will struggle more this year to get up over the top sides, especially the NZ teams, and away from home. I feel Stephen Larkham has a ceiling as a coach, which he is struggling the breach. Taking on the Blues in Auckland could turn nasty. Vern Cotter’s scrum focus, and success in that aera so far will be a big test for our side.


Where I see th NZ sides, alll of them, ahead of our teams, is the speed and accuracy of their breakdown work. Their scrum halves have a far easier role than any Australian 9. The other area of superiority for the NZ teams is the speed at which they exploit areas, take chances.


Anyway, upset results so far have certainly made this year far more interesting than previous years. Long may this continue.

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LONG READ The numbers show Super Rugby Pacific just got even tougher The numbers show Super Rugby Pacific just got even tougher
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