Conor backed to box clever

IRELAND captain Rory Best has backed Conor Murray to show his Lions credentials again at Murrayfield today – despite having a target on his back.

Scotland have made no secret of their plan to put the squeeze on Murray in the Six Nations opener, repeating the tactic Glasgow employed against Munster in the Champions Cup last month.

Murray claimed that the Glasgow players targeted his standing leg every time he lined up clearance kicks.

Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw has vowed that Scotland will follow Glasgow’s lead but Best – the bookmakers’ favourite to lead the Lions this summer – insisted that will only serve to inspire the man who is set to have first claim on the No9 jersey in New Zealand.

“Conor wants to make sure that he rises to the pressure that will be on him, and that it spurs him on,” said Best.

“The pressure on the nine, the pressure on the box-kick, it’s something that a quality player like Conor expects. For us it’s about making sure that we cope with that and we perform – and for him in particular that he’s able to perform his role.

“He’s a quality player – he’s shown that and backed it up time and time again and what we’re asking from him is another one of those performances that he’s delivered regularly this season.”

Ireland go into the Six Nations without key playmaker Johnny Sexton, who could miss the team’s first two matches in the competition with a calf injury. MURRAY: Kicks