Murray primed for success on ‘another level’
CONOR MURRAY says that winning a Grand Slam in Twickenham would be on ‘another level’ to anything he has achieved in his career so far. Victory over England on St Patrick’s Day would see Joe Schmidt’s side become just the third Irish team to achieve the Grand Slam. And Murray, who won his third Six Nations title over the weekend, believes that going to Twickenham and securing a clean sweep of victories would be the highlight of his glittering career to date. England are unbeaten at their home ground since losing to Australia in the 2015 World Cup, but Ireland are traveling with the momentum of an 11-game winning run behind them. ‘It would be up there, it would be right at the top,’ Murray admitted. ‘Thankfully there have been a few really good days in big games. There are amazing feelings, this is going to be massive. Just from chatting to a few lads who have won a Slam, you know the couple of championships we won in 2014 and 2015 were unbelievable and the buzz was great, the sense of achievement was massive but this is another level, this is something different. ‘This is something that hasn’t
AS WITH any Six Nations, there is a long list of names that failed to make it from the opening weekend to the final round of fixtures.
Josh van der Flier began the tournament as Joe Schmidt’s firstchoice openside flanker in the absence of injured Seán O’Brien, but his campaign lasted just 25 minutes before sustaining an ACL injury that ended his season.
Since then, he’s been watching the achievements of this Ireland team from the comfort of his couch.
‘It hasn’t been too bad. It’s kind of grand during the week and then once you sit down and watch the games, it is tough watching on,’ he explained.
This weekend will be tougher than most for Van der Flier.
Ireland are chasing only a thirdever Grand Slam when they face England at Twickenham on St Patrick’s Day, a stadium where Van der Flier made his international debut two years ago.
Of all the fixtures on the Six Nations calendar, missing this one hits hardest.
‘Watching when I was younger, the team you always wanted to beat was England. It’s that bit more special with the history behind it all,’ he continued.
‘It’s a tough place to go in terms of the atmosphere and everything. They’ve a bit more adrenaline, maybe, because they’re at home.
‘I absolutely loved it. I thought the crowd – I always had the idea before you played in big stadiums away from home, “It’s really bad, so tough, they’re in your face and they’re loud,” but I absolutely loved it, I thought it was the best thing ever.
‘You just have to go out and enjoy it, really. That’s what I tried to do. Once the kick-off happens it just feels like another game.’
If dealing with the blow of a season-ending injury wasn’t enough, the 24-year-old has had to watch his replacement, Leinster team-mate Dan Leavy, step in and excel on the international stage.
With O’Brien and Leavy standing in his way at both international and provincial level, it can be hard to shake the fear of losing ground while on the treatment table.
‘It’s something you think of when I first got injured, I was working for ages to try and get a start for Ireland and now someone else is going to get a start,’ he admits.
‘I got surgery, two and half weeks ago, started the physio pretty much a couple of days after that and I’m making good progress so far.
‘I’m aiming for the start of next season, that’s the goal.’
Luckily, Van der Flier is surrounded by teammates who are helping ensure he doesn’t get too bogged down by an arduous rehabilitation programme.
‘It happened on the Saturday against France, and Sunday I got the scan and found out [that I had torn the ligament] that night.
‘Obviously the doctor who told me was in Irish camp so a few of the lads had heard.
‘Jordi Murphy rang me straight away that night, because he had been through it last year. Obviously there’s not much you can say to console someone but he said “You’ll be back, it’s not too bad and the rehab is fine and it’s a chance to get stronger”.
‘I had a sit down with Ed Byrne as well, he was obviously out for about two years with knee injuries. They both said what worked well for them and what didn’t, things to do and things to avoid, that kind of thing.
‘One of the things Ed said to me when he sat me down, he said: “Josh you’re good at this, good at that, you’re a good player, no one else can do this”.
‘He said he found it very discouraging. You see someone doing something unbelievable and you think “Aw, I don’t know if I’ll be able to do something like that, I don’t know if I’ll be able to play like that”. You forget.
‘He was saying not to read into it, just try and get back as strong as you can, try and get back better than you were before. So that’s where I’m working on.
‘It’s easy to get caught behind, then come back thinking “I don’t know if I’m good enough anymore, I’ve been out a year, I’m rusty”. ‘It’s just to try and not get down on yourself and then try to come back better.’