ASKING CONOR MURRAY a series of questions about Johnny Sexton’s journey to 100 Test caps feels a bit like quizzing Robin on what drives Batman to keep dusting down that cape.
But on a week when Sexton’s upcoming milestone has put the Ireland captain front and centre, his half-back partner offered a fascinating, heartfelt insight into a journey that the pair have largely shared together.
Flick through the iconic moments of Sexton’s Ireland career, and Murray is never too far from view. The two players have spent so much time together on the pitch that on Tuesday, when Sexton was fielding one of the many questions about his road to 100, he made a point of highlighting Murray’s role in the story.
“How many did I play with Conor Murray, 70 maybe?” Sexton said.“To have a guy beside you through the course of your career… We built a good relationship and a good bond.”
With that in mind, it was interesting that when Murray was asked to highlight one moment that stands out of playing with Sexton, without so much as a pause to consider the various shared successes the pair have enjoyed, the scrum-half went all the way back to his fifth cap for Ireland.
“The World Cup in New Zealand, 2011. We played Italy in the last group game, ROG started, Johnny came on,” Murray explained.
“I suppose my journey in that World Cup was just enjoying the ride almost. I probably didn’t have the level of detail that Johnny was expecting from his nine inside him and I remember we got to the touchline, and he wanted me to play the pod of forwards off the touchline.
I was just playing and I ripped it out the back to him and hit him, and he wasn’t expecting it. He just launched a kick or Garryowen of some sort, and the names he called me while we were chasing that kick, it instilled in me really early that I need to be all over my detail and understand what he wants as a nine inside him.
“It was just a really quick learning situation for me and it was brilliant, because we laugh about it now but genuinely it made me realise the level that is required to play international rugby and to be a good nine to your 10 outside you.
“I’ll never repeat the words that he used, but they hit home.”
It’s a side of the Sexton story that has been told time and time again. The ruthless competitor with a penchant for laying into his teammates. Through experience, Murray learned what makes his half-back partner tick.
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Murray and Sexton at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
“I’m proud of Johnny, the way he’s reached it,” Murray continues.
“What took me a while to get used to was Johnny’s body language. To people on the outside, when something doesn’t go right he can probably look like he’s giving out a lot or sulking, but after a few years of getting to know Johnny, it comes from such a good place. Sometimes he’ll say it himself, that that body language is because he’s disappointed with himself about a couple of phases before or whatever.
“Realising that and realising where it comes from, how he means to take the team to the next level and get all the cogs of the wheel moving in the right direction – he takes an awful lot of responsibility for that and that’s a lot of pressure on him as well.
“He’s had loads of challenges, loads of tough times, a couple of injuries to deal with, and his resilience is incredible.”
With more than a decade of senior rugby under his belt, Murray has worked with his fair share of 10s across his various experiences with Munster, Ireland and the Lions.
“He’s definitely a unique type of force,” he says of Sexton.
“Every 10 you play with, there’s different traits from their personality and their competitiveness. I’ve played with loads of outhalves that have really high standards, but they just portray them in different ways or demand the players around them to be of a certain standard.
“It’s quite unique how he guides a team around a pitch and that took a little bit of getting used to. But as I said already, it comes from a really good place…
It comes from wanting to win, and sharing winning dressing rooms with Johnny when the pressure is released is incredible. You can just see how much it means to him. If he brings his kids into the dressing room afterwards you know how much his family mean to him, and then winning for Ireland to make his family proud, he wears his heart on his sleeve.”
With 89 caps to his name, Murray isn’t to far from hitting that rarefied air himself. Yet while Sexton looks to have a firm grip on the 10 jersey for now, Andy Farrell’s options at scrum-half suggest a fascinating battle lies ahead on the road to the 2023 World Cup.
Farrell cleary rates Jamison Gibson-Park highly, and Murray’s Munster teammate Craig Casey was only settling into the ‘next big thing’ shoes when Nathan Doak burst into life with Ulster.
A Lions tourist over the summer, Murray still has much to offer at this level, but the competition in his position has really heated up over the past year or so.
We already know Sexton wants to make it to France 2023, but will Murray still be by his side?
“Yeah, you look at it and obviously we’ve spoken about it,” he says.
“I definitely have long-term goals and short-term goals, like anyone else. But you take it week to week.
I really enjoy these weeks. I suppose if you have a certain amount of caps you know how special they are, how many you might be able to get to, but it’s just to make sure you enjoy every week and make the most out of it. I think that’s what gets the best out of me, focusing on it week to week and really soaking it up… But yeah, long term you never know what milestone you could hit.”
Murray says he’s feeling fresh heading into this block of international fixtures despite only clocking up 21 minutes for Munster so far this season. His summer tour with the Lions also tested him in a variety of ways, some of which could leave other players mentally and physically drained.
This is a player who was handed the Lions captaincy only for it to be snatched away again following Alun Wyn Jones’ remarkable recovery from a shoulder injury, a personal disappointment which had to be parked ahead of the Test series against the Springboks, where Murray started the second Test and came off the bench in the other two.
Murray started once and came off the bench twice in the Lions' series defeat to South Africa. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Murray – who adds that he’s received no feedback from the Lions camp in terms of the rugby and performances in South Africa – says he still looks back on that challenging trip to South Africa fondly.
“We had time off after that and I had a reflection period over the holidays with family and loved ones and I think it’s brought a bit of calmness to me, more so than before, with all that was thrown at me – I’m talking personally now for the moment – I thought I dealt with it pretty well and I’m kind of proud with the way I reacted and kept moving and kept trying to get better and influenced the group in a positive way,” he continues.
“It was difficult, it was really enjoyable, it was challenging, it was rewarding, it was tough at times, so it had every type of emotion. But overall, I thought we had an unbelievable group of players that just kind of rallied, with the Covid situation and the few cases and this, that and the other, I just think everyone just kind of got on with it and knew what the challenge was.
“Overall, I’ve really fond memories of it, to be honest, whereas some people are kind of surprised to hear that.”
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'He's definitely a unique type of force' - Murray on Sexton, Lions fallout and long-term goals
ASKING CONOR MURRAY a series of questions about Johnny Sexton’s journey to 100 Test caps feels a bit like quizzing Robin on what drives Batman to keep dusting down that cape.
But on a week when Sexton’s upcoming milestone has put the Ireland captain front and centre, his half-back partner offered a fascinating, heartfelt insight into a journey that the pair have largely shared together.
Flick through the iconic moments of Sexton’s Ireland career, and Murray is never too far from view. The two players have spent so much time together on the pitch that on Tuesday, when Sexton was fielding one of the many questions about his road to 100, he made a point of highlighting Murray’s role in the story.
“How many did I play with Conor Murray, 70 maybe?” Sexton said. “To have a guy beside you through the course of your career… We built a good relationship and a good bond.”
With that in mind, it was interesting that when Murray was asked to highlight one moment that stands out of playing with Sexton, without so much as a pause to consider the various shared successes the pair have enjoyed, the scrum-half went all the way back to his fifth cap for Ireland.
“The World Cup in New Zealand, 2011. We played Italy in the last group game, ROG started, Johnny came on,” Murray explained.
“I suppose my journey in that World Cup was just enjoying the ride almost. I probably didn’t have the level of detail that Johnny was expecting from his nine inside him and I remember we got to the touchline, and he wanted me to play the pod of forwards off the touchline.
“It was just a really quick learning situation for me and it was brilliant, because we laugh about it now but genuinely it made me realise the level that is required to play international rugby and to be a good nine to your 10 outside you.
“I’ll never repeat the words that he used, but they hit home.”
It’s a side of the Sexton story that has been told time and time again. The ruthless competitor with a penchant for laying into his teammates. Through experience, Murray learned what makes his half-back partner tick.
“I’m proud of Johnny, the way he’s reached it,” Murray continues.
“What took me a while to get used to was Johnny’s body language. To people on the outside, when something doesn’t go right he can probably look like he’s giving out a lot or sulking, but after a few years of getting to know Johnny, it comes from such a good place. Sometimes he’ll say it himself, that that body language is because he’s disappointed with himself about a couple of phases before or whatever.
“Realising that and realising where it comes from, how he means to take the team to the next level and get all the cogs of the wheel moving in the right direction – he takes an awful lot of responsibility for that and that’s a lot of pressure on him as well.
“He’s had loads of challenges, loads of tough times, a couple of injuries to deal with, and his resilience is incredible.”
With more than a decade of senior rugby under his belt, Murray has worked with his fair share of 10s across his various experiences with Munster, Ireland and the Lions.
“He’s definitely a unique type of force,” he says of Sexton.
“Every 10 you play with, there’s different traits from their personality and their competitiveness. I’ve played with loads of outhalves that have really high standards, but they just portray them in different ways or demand the players around them to be of a certain standard.
“It’s quite unique how he guides a team around a pitch and that took a little bit of getting used to. But as I said already, it comes from a really good place…
With 89 caps to his name, Murray isn’t to far from hitting that rarefied air himself. Yet while Sexton looks to have a firm grip on the 10 jersey for now, Andy Farrell’s options at scrum-half suggest a fascinating battle lies ahead on the road to the 2023 World Cup.
Farrell cleary rates Jamison Gibson-Park highly, and Murray’s Munster teammate Craig Casey was only settling into the ‘next big thing’ shoes when Nathan Doak burst into life with Ulster.
A Lions tourist over the summer, Murray still has much to offer at this level, but the competition in his position has really heated up over the past year or so.
We already know Sexton wants to make it to France 2023, but will Murray still be by his side?
“Yeah, you look at it and obviously we’ve spoken about it,” he says.
“I definitely have long-term goals and short-term goals, like anyone else. But you take it week to week.
Murray says he’s feeling fresh heading into this block of international fixtures despite only clocking up 21 minutes for Munster so far this season. His summer tour with the Lions also tested him in a variety of ways, some of which could leave other players mentally and physically drained.
This is a player who was handed the Lions captaincy only for it to be snatched away again following Alun Wyn Jones’ remarkable recovery from a shoulder injury, a personal disappointment which had to be parked ahead of the Test series against the Springboks, where Murray started the second Test and came off the bench in the other two.
Murray – who adds that he’s received no feedback from the Lions camp in terms of the rugby and performances in South Africa – says he still looks back on that challenging trip to South Africa fondly.
“We had time off after that and I had a reflection period over the holidays with family and loved ones and I think it’s brought a bit of calmness to me, more so than before, with all that was thrown at me – I’m talking personally now for the moment – I thought I dealt with it pretty well and I’m kind of proud with the way I reacted and kept moving and kept trying to get better and influenced the group in a positive way,” he continues.
“It was difficult, it was really enjoyable, it was challenging, it was rewarding, it was tough at times, so it had every type of emotion. But overall, I thought we had an unbelievable group of players that just kind of rallied, with the Covid situation and the few cases and this, that and the other, I just think everyone just kind of got on with it and knew what the challenge was.
“Overall, I’ve really fond memories of it, to be honest, whereas some people are kind of surprised to hear that.”
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autumn internationals Conor Murray Ireland Johnny Sexton shared journey