JORDAN WAS THE MAN..AS WAS PAULIE

JORDI MURPHY has been reminded of former Ireland captain Paul O’connell while watching ESPN’S critically acclaimed Michael Jordan documentary during lockdown.

Like millions of other basketball fans, Murphy has immersed himself in The Last Dance, a 10-part film on Jordan’s (left, top) illustrious career with the 1990s Chicago Bulls.

On the Netflix production, the former NBA star is painted as a driven, transformative figure – and that’s where the comparison with the ex-lions lock comes in.

Asked if Jordan’s quest for sporting excellence reminded him of any team-mates in the world of rugby, Murphy said: “Someone like Paul O’connell. He was one of those people who didn’t leave anything to chance, was always so well prepared and looked after himself incredibly well.

“Even the time he put into the extras in the gym and on the video room. He was a pretty incredible competitor and it showed when I played for

Ireland with him and the odd times I got to play against him when he was at Munster.”

While Jordan’s desire for perfection brought him into conflict with team-mates, O’connell (left, bottom) commanded the “utmost respect” of his peers.

Murphy said: “When you look at Michael Jordan, he seems to scare a lot of his team-mates but Paulie wasn’t like that.

“Everybody would have had the utmost respect for him and he was also a great guy as well so he was the best of both worlds.”

Murphy, who has spent lockdown in Belfast, revealed one of the highlights of his week has sitting down to watch The Last Dance.

“Every Monday morning I was straight on Netflix,” he said. “I’m glad they staggered it out because it’s the kind of thing I could have seen myself watching for 10 hours in a row.

“It was class. It’s one of the best sports documentaries I’ve ever seen. There’s some pretty good learnings for everyone to see the level of commitment and heart that he (Jordan) puts into his craft. It was pretty incredible.”