A mix of familiar faces and lads deserving of a shot.
Conor Murray returned to action for Munster in late November and looked as if he had not missed a beat. He was giving a stern test in the away Champions Cup with Castres and then, for the first time in a long while, looked unsure of himself when Exeter came to Thomond Park.
England sent a shudder throughout Irish rugby when they came to Dublin, in the Guinness Six Nations opener, and rattled multiple cages. Murray did not endure the roughest of the treatment but he still endured a tough afternoon. The passing and kicking of the Irish half backs was off the mark and it was due in large part to the pressure England’s players brought to bear.
Following that 32-20 defeat, there was one question that sparked an exasperated response from Murray. Asked in a post-match huddle if England’s rapid line-speed had taken him, and Ireland, by surprise, Murray sharply responded, “What?! No. No. They’re a top side and they stopped our momentum today.”
It was just a small slip of the mask in an otherwise impressive interview, in difficult circumstances. We messed up. We were inaccurate, Murray told us. We’ll get it right. Trust us, we’ll get it right.
On Saturday at Murrayfield, Ireland got back to winning ways. Murray looked more comfortable out there but that passing and kicking game is not yet back up to his usual standards. He will surely get there, and it is worth playing him again when Ireland travel to Rome on the weekend of February 23-24.
Looking ahead to that game, Barry Murphy and Andrew Trimble [from 38:00 below] discussed some of the ways Ireland could line up against Italy on the latest episode of  Baz & Andrew’s House of Rugby.
Murphy wonders if the change in Murray’s box-kicking has been prescribed by Schmidt. The first kicks against England and Scotland, respectively, went for touch and long and put Ireland under early pressure. Trimble commented:
“There is definitely a reason for it, because it is not like Murray has just decided. He has definitely been told [to kick that way] and there is a tactical reason to it.”
Comedian David O’Doherty had another way of looking at it – “Do you reckon we’re playing checkers and Joe is playing chess? He’s like, ‘Right, let’s hold all that back’.” Irish fans will certainly hope so.
Joey Carbery overcame a shaky start, which included through an intercept to Finn Russell that cost his side a try, in the 22-13 win over Scotland. He never dropped his head and his second half break and pass to Keith Earls was the match-clinching moment.
Murphy would like Murray to start against Italy but would be keen for him to be paired with Carbery for the game, even if Sexton does come through all the Return to Play protocols after failing a weekend Head Injury Assessment.
The reigning World Player of the Year would be best off avoiding all such speculation over the next eight or nine days (until Schmidt names his team). He would be none too happy, for example, to hear Brian O’Driscoll saying he has lost a yard of pace during a discussion on Off The Ball. He added:
“From a self-preservation perspective, Johnny doesn’t have to get back into the pocket… He just has to be a little bit selfish and look after himself by giving it [that pass to Jacob Stockdale] a fraction earlier than he ordinarily would, because he is 33 and because we need him more than ever in the World Cup.”
Murray and Carbery started Ireland’s First Test against Australia, last June. They have since made a fistful of starts together for Munster, with Carbery gradually taking more and more responsibility for running plays, in defence and attack.
Murphy would like to see Jordan Larmour brought into the backline for the Italy match, something the Azzurri would surely dread given the Leinster star’s hat-trick against them at Soldier Field last November.
Asked by O’Doherty if there was room in that backline for Will Addison, Murphy was game. “Garry Ringrose might be a doubt for Italy so I’d get Addison in. He’s a natural 13. I’d love to see Chris Farrell at 12 too. He’s big enough. He’s a huge man. Stick him in at 12 and he’d do just as much damage and he’s a little bit of a ball-player.”
Potential Ireland backline:
(9) Conor Murray, (10) Joey Carbery, (11) Jacob Stockdale, (12) Chris Farrell, (13) Will Addison, (14) Jordan Larmour, (15) Rob Kearney.
WATCH THAT EPISODE HERE:
