IN A SEASON which, so far, has been short of significant highlight reels, the emergence of Jack Murphy has at least brought something of an upbeat narrative to Ulster.
The 21-year-old out half, who only came up the road to Ulster’s Academy last summer following his successful stint at Ireland U20s, where he was also coached by his father Richie – has taken his chance and demonstrated considerable maturity for his adopted province.
Handed a first start in the victory at Connacht during the festive period, Murphy has been in the number 10 jersey for Ulster’s last four games which have brought the province three vital victories in the URC and a battling European knockout defeat at Bordeaux.
Murphy’s tactical kicking and distribution have brought an extra dimension to a key position at Ulster and should the currently sixth-placed squad secure a top eight URC finish, and another taste of knockout rugby, then he will doubtless have been a driving force in achieving this outcome.
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Murphy in action against Bordeaux. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
First, though, there are four more rounds to negotiate ahead of the play-offs and Murphy breaks new ground tomorrow, playing against his native province and doing so, at this level, in the Aviva Stadium.
“(I’m) Really looking forward to it, and playing in Aviva is obviously a big deal,” he says.
Maintaining that he hasn’t done too much deep diving into who he might be facing in the opposite channel, he adds, “it’s more so (focusing on) the team, I think we know that we’re going to face some speed off the line from them.
“But we’re just trying to focus on what we can do to get the results that we want, so there are a couple of things that we’re looking at.”
“Obviously, the last couple of weeks, we’ve been pretty good in terms of getting our attack flowing.”
Murphy admits that his journey in the game has ramped up probably earlier than he had been anticipating yet he, with the support of experienced heads around him, has embraced the challenge and, after seven starts from his nine games, looks comfortable in the role.
“Playing in Bordeaux and (before that) against the Stormers at home was pretty cool.
“I probably wouldn’t have thought about that when I first came up, but to get it so early is obviously great for me in my development.”
“When you go from underage rugby to senior, big games like in Bordeaux with a massive crowd, and hostile atmospheres are definitely a step up.”
“I think those experiences have really helped me this year, and it’s been great fun.”
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'Big games, massive crowds, those experiences have really helped me'
IN A SEASON which, so far, has been short of significant highlight reels, the emergence of Jack Murphy has at least brought something of an upbeat narrative to Ulster.
The 21-year-old out half, who only came up the road to Ulster’s Academy last summer following his successful stint at Ireland U20s, where he was also coached by his father Richie – has taken his chance and demonstrated considerable maturity for his adopted province.
Handed a first start in the victory at Connacht during the festive period, Murphy has been in the number 10 jersey for Ulster’s last four games which have brought the province three vital victories in the URC and a battling European knockout defeat at Bordeaux.
Murphy’s tactical kicking and distribution have brought an extra dimension to a key position at Ulster and should the currently sixth-placed squad secure a top eight URC finish, and another taste of knockout rugby, then he will doubtless have been a driving force in achieving this outcome.
First, though, there are four more rounds to negotiate ahead of the play-offs and Murphy breaks new ground tomorrow, playing against his native province and doing so, at this level, in the Aviva Stadium.
“(I’m) Really looking forward to it, and playing in Aviva is obviously a big deal,” he says.
Maintaining that he hasn’t done too much deep diving into who he might be facing in the opposite channel, he adds, “it’s more so (focusing on) the team, I think we know that we’re going to face some speed off the line from them.
“But we’re just trying to focus on what we can do to get the results that we want, so there are a couple of things that we’re looking at.”
“Obviously, the last couple of weeks, we’ve been pretty good in terms of getting our attack flowing.”
Murphy admits that his journey in the game has ramped up probably earlier than he had been anticipating yet he, with the support of experienced heads around him, has embraced the challenge and, after seven starts from his nine games, looks comfortable in the role.
“Playing in Bordeaux and (before that) against the Stormers at home was pretty cool.
“I probably wouldn’t have thought about that when I first came up, but to get it so early is obviously great for me in my development.”
“When you go from underage rugby to senior, big games like in Bordeaux with a massive crowd, and hostile atmospheres are definitely a step up.”
“I think those experiences have really helped me this year, and it’s been great fun.”
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jack murphy Rugby stepping up Ulster URC