Murray: Ireland ready for moment of history

Conor Murray says victory for Ireland over England at Twickenham on Saturday would be the greatest of his life, and possibly the greatest in the history of Irish rugby.

Ireland secured the 2018 Natwest Six Nations title last weekend thanks to their 28-8 victory over Scotland in Dublin. Joe Schmidt’s team are chasing what would be only their third Grand Slam following clean sweeps in 1948 and 2009. Having avoided talk of a Grand Slam over the last month, Murray says there is no longer any point denying the magnitude of what is at stake on St Patrick’s Day.

“We can start talking about it now, because that’s what’s in front of us if things go well,” Murray said. “It would be right up there, probably at the top. Only Rob [Kearney] and Rory [Best] are left that have won a slam. The motivation is in our group and it’s about how we avoid the distraction of all that and go about our business like we usually do in a match week with something really special to play for.”

Ireland have declared all 36 squad members fit, including Cian Healy, who suffered a shoulder/trapezius injury against Scotland.

Murray said that Ireland were braced for an English backlash. “They’ve had a couple of tough games but they’re the same side which won a slam and a championship back-to-back,” he said.