SOME DAY SOON a head coach at Munster will have to make a decision that at one stage seemed unthinkable, namely to pick someone other than Conor Murray at No9.
That coach may even be Johann van Graan before he departs for Bath next season. When asked about this after tonight’s 64-3 win over Dragons, van Graan kicked the issue to touch.
However, if Craig Casey continues to produce performances as good as this – albeit against limited opposition – the question will be asked over and over. Murray is getting older; Casey is getting better. At some point their differing career paths will meet at a crossroads. At some point, the person signing the team sheet at Munster before a major Champions Cup game or URC play-off match will write Casey’s name in rather than Murray’s.
We just don’t know when.
Murray’s problem, as we’ve stated before, is that he is often compared to the Conor Murray of 2016-18. The 2022 Murray isn’t as good as that earlier version but that doesn’t mean he should be dropped. The debate has to be framed as a Murray versus Casey conversation.
This was van Graan’s take on the issue after tonight’s game.
“Craig has played really well all season and gave a really good performance tonight,” said van Graan. “His fundamentals are really good, he ended up on the wing tonight at the back end of the game, and it is brilliant for him to come down from the national team and show such a wonderful attitude.
“We are very impressed by him. In terms of all of our nines, there is very good competition. We don’t work against each other; we work with each other.
“It is a great position to have two nines with the national team. Whoever starts or whoever is on the bench is what is best for the team. We will reassess at the back end of the Six Nations and when we are back from South Africa.
“Selection is one thing you need to get right. So much goes into it, the opposition, the referee, the conditions. It is always a 23-man effort.”
That doesn’t give us any idea into what way the selection will go when Murray is available again for the double-header against Exeter in the Champions Cup round of 16 game. That decision, you suspect, won’t be made until the week of the game. The difference now is that it is a discussion point.
Not that long ago, Murray’s was the first name down on the team sheet.
