‘No-one’s name is on the list already.’
Jordi Murphy made the statement with certainty and assurance but, injuries aside, Ireland would go Saipan-squared if Paul O’Connell was not already permanently inked onto Joe Schmidt’s ‘RWC 2015’ note-pad.
Still, we get the point that the versatile Leinster back-row is making. There are spots up for grabs over the next four weeks.
Ireland play their first World Cup warm-up game against Wales, on Saturday, and Murphy is hoping to be named in the back row.
Fresh off his second Six Nations-winning season, Murphy has some serious company in the back row. Surnames such as O’Mahony, O’Brien, Heaslip, Henry and O’Donnell are all fit and firing in training.
Schmidt is still keeping tabs on the fitness of Rhys Ruddock, Donnacha Ryan can play flanker and both Jack Conan and Dominic Ryan are training like demons.
Back rows may only get two chances during Ireland’s four warm-up games. Mess one of them up and they will be watching the World Cup at home.
It is probably inadvisable, then, to suggest to Murphy that the Wales match is not really a Test match.
‘It’s just like a regular Test match,’ he scoffed when the importance of the match was questioned.
‘It’s a Test match. Everyone gets a cap for it… every single one of these games will matter for those who are playing, in terms of putting their hands up and getting on the plane.’
‘People may say they are friendlies,’ he added, ‘[but] there won’t be anything friendly about them once we are playing.’
Another word to avoid around Murphy, when talking about Wales, is “revenge”. The Welsh beat Ireland at the Millennium Stadium, in March, but Murphy feels the two games will bear no real resemblance.
‘There will be two different teams playing… We let opportunities go on the day but we know we can do better.’
The Barcelona-born forward’s World Cup selection case will be aided, no doubt, by the fact that he can cover each three back row positions. ‘
If it helps the coaches, it helps me as well,’ he remarked.
Hat-tip: @killeroc
