The Murray crux
Scrum-half’s absence is cause for concern ahead of World Cup
THERE is a well established truism in the world of spin – if you create a void, it’s going to get filled and you lose control of the story.
Which is what’s happening at the moment with the Conor Murray injury situation, with Munster declining to give details on his recovery period or even confirm the nature of his suspected neck/ shoulder problem. This has invited speculation and, on the back of the Jamie Heaslip saga last season (when expectation of his return gradually morphed into the realisation that the No8’s career was over) doom-mongering is inevitable.
‘Inside baseball’
When it comes to media gripes about being kept in the dark, no one really cares outside the media (‘inside baseball’ as it is known in US politics). The pictures this week of Murray taking some part in training are encouraging and if the player or his employers prefer to keep medical details private, for whatever reason, that should be respected.
However, what Murray’s current unavailability does provide is an opportunity to focus on the depth beneath him.
That is the broader theme underscoring the thinking of Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt for some time now – contingency planning to ensure quality options in every position to cater for every eventuality.
A good time, then, with the World Cup just 12 months away, to examine the scrum-half situation and look at who should step up for Murray if that unfortunate need arises.
The standard
That process begins with appreciation of the level Murray is at and the standards required for someone to come close to mirroring his worth to the team.
The backdrop for current concern about his well-being stems from clear evidence that the Limerickman is by some distance, the finest Irish scrum-half to have played for Ireland.
This country does not have a history of producing world-class No9s and, before Murray toured Australia in 2013, there existed a remarkable statistic that this country had not produced a Lions scrumhalf in 29 years – not since Colin Patterson and John Robbie toured South Africa in 1980.
That was part a significant journey from talented youngster (plucked from relative obscurity by Declan Kidney for the 2011 World Cup) to becoming widely regarded as one of the top two players in his position in the game – contesting that honour with New Zealand’s Aaron Smith.
Murray has been a central figure in all of Ireland’s recent achievements – the Six Nations titles in 2014 and 2015, the Test win in South Africa and first victory over the All Blacks in 2016 and the Grand Slam and series win in Australia this year.
Like half-back partner Johnny Sexton, flanker Peter O’Mahony and captain Rory Best, Murray represents more than the sum of his playing parts – he has a presence that infuses team-mates with confidence and a sense of surety than any situation can be handled.
The tactical direction he provides from the base of the ruck, the quality of his box kicking, his auxiliary backrow defence and the powerful surges that have yielded 13 international tries – it all oozes leadership
Indeed, Murray’s status is such that the tactic of targeting the scrum-half, illegally or otherwise, has become a regular theme with opponents operating within the simple philosophy of: stop Murray and you stop his team.
The candidates
So, who can come close to replicating Murray’s influence should that need arise?
The word around Ireland camp is that Schmidt is not prepared to bring players to Japan who have not proven themselves at Test level and, with only 13 matches left before the opening World Cup clash against Scotland, there is little opportunity for bolters. That means that, while there are other talented scrum-halves in the system, like Caolin Blade in Connacht and Neil Cronin at Munster (after a superb start to his professional career), they will only come into the equation in an injury crisis. Which leaves the three nominated understudies – Kieran Marmion of Connacht, Leinster’s Luke McGrath and John Cooney in Ulster.
Marmion has been at the head of the queue up to now. He has won 22 caps since his debut against Argentina in 2014 and, though 17 of those appearances have been off the bench, Marmion has performed well in the starting role also – notably in the Grand Slam-denying win over England last year.
The Connacht man has a good delivery, decent footballing skills and the pace to propel him swiftly to the breakdown and make him a threat on the break.
Then there is McGrath. A late developer (not helped by being held back by former Leinster coach Matt O’Connor), he has come through strongly since Eoin Reddan’s retirement, possessing many of the same livewire qualities as Marmion and proving his worth at international level over the course of his six caps (five as substitute).
Two fine players but both adhere more to the traditional Irish scrumhalf template of facilitator, rather than the French scrum-half ‘generale’ role that Murray prefers.
The best bet
Which brings us to Cooney, the great success story in terms of succession planning in Irish rugby over the past 12 months.
Having seen off the myopic outrage that greeted his arrival at Ulster at the expense of South African icon Ruan Pienaar, Cooney has established himself as the province’s most influential and inspirational player.
In style, he is the scrum-half closest to Murray, the most physical of the ‘Understudy Three’ and a fellow disciple of that French philosophy encouraging the No9 to share playmaking duties with his out-half.
Accurate kicking from hand is a major part of Cooney’s repertoire while he has also put huge time into becoming a place-kicker of the highest quality to give himself another means of proving his many doubters wrong.
On the back of Cooney’s stunning debut season at Ulster, those doubters have either gone very quiet or indulged in shameless flip-flopping – conveniently forgetting their ‘fury’ during the tedious Pienaar rejection saga in their haste to acclaim his replacement’s performances.
And it is that journey which provides the most compelling reason for flagging Cooney as the man best suited to step into Murray’s boots should that unfortunate need arise.
The challenges he has faced – failing to establish himself at Leinster, the injury problems that compromised his stint at Connacht and the initial antipathy following his move to Ulster – have made Cooney, at 28, a far stronger character.
Just the type of individual, in fact, that Schmidt requires if he is to break Ireland’s long cycle of World Cup failure.
As he said in an interview this week – prior to committing his long term future to Ulster and then winning his second Pro14 clash in a row almost single-handedly – the Leinster man has a ‘chip on the shoulder’ mentality that has added a layer of steel and gives him a Murray-esque presence on the pitch.
Making the summer tour to Australia was a significant boost and now Cooney is primed to kick on – in November and beyond.
Conor Murray being unavailable would be a huge blow but John Cooney is in the process of showing that it does not need to be fatal one.