HISTORY MAY BE in the offing for Ireland when the neighbours are over but Conor Murray insists Joe Schmidt’s side will need no added incentive to end their losing streak to England on Sunday.
Ireland head into the clash at the Aviva Stadium having won both their opening Six Nations games and a win over the old enemy would be their tenth successive victory – equalling the previous record achieved in 2003.
And although Murray admits it was a topic of conversation during the squad’s camp in Galway last week, the scrum-half is sure the stakes are high enough as it is.
“I think Joe [Schmidt] mentioned it during the week, that it is there for the taking, but for us at the moment there’s a bigger prize of beating England and staying alive in this competition and doing well in that,” he said.
“And then after that you look at these type of records. It’s nice but it’s not the motivating factor for us this week
Ireland have lost the last three meetings between the sides with Murray – along with several of his team mates – yet to taste victory over England.
“It’s tough,” he admitted when asked about losing to the Red Rose three times in a row.
“It’s hard when you haven’t experienced a win against them and I know how tough it’s going to be next Sunday, it’s going to be an extremely physical game.
“They’ve a huge pack that are really dominating games at the moment at the breakdown, both offensively and defensively.
“That’s an area we’ll have to look at and target those areas to put them under pressure when they have the ball and try and attack their breakdown and try and stop players like Ben Youngs getting quick ball and having the freedom to run and run the show.”
Although wins over Italy and France have set Schmidt’s side up nicely for the rest of the campaign, Ireland have yet to really click into first gear.
The absence of Jamie Heaslip is a huge loss but having managed without the dynamic number 8 in Rome on the opening weekend of the competition, Murray is confident whoever deputises will slot in seamlessly.
“Of course the loss of Jamie is huge for us but we saw in Italy when Tommy [O'Donnell] came in for Seanie [O'Brien] he did really well so Joe has loads of options.
“There’s no fear that whoever comes in won’t do the job.”
A date for Heaslip’s return has not yet been set after the Leinster man fractured three vertebrae last week as a result of a knee in the back from Pascal Pape. The French forward has been banned for 10 weeks and Murray admits it was a cheap-shot that deserved to be punished.
“It was a cheap shot and isn’t what we like to see in rugby but it’s been dealt with by the higher powers.”
For Murray, it’s crucial that he forms a partnership with whoever fills it at the back of the scrum and having worked closely with Jordi Murphy at the Stadio Olimpico, the Leinster back-row is the frontrunner to get the nod.
“I worked with Jordi that week [before Rome] and just talked to him during and after training about the back of the scrum because he might need to flick the ball through his legs if things get messy or we might need to work on an eight-nine move down the right.
“It’s just about prepping those scenarios and getting used to each other so if it’s Jordi again than it’s just about doing it again because it went well against Italy and there was a good understanding there.”
While Schmidt’s meticulous nature means Ireland are continuously working and fine-tuning areas that need improvement, you get the feeling that when England are in town, the end result far outweighs the means.
“It’s crucial for momentum,” Murray added.
“We want to be a winning team and having done that for the last nine games, we want to continue that this weekend.”
Lucozade Sport Ambassador Conor Murray took part in the Lucozade Sport Conversion Challenge, located at Grand Canal Dock in Dublin.
Rugby fans are invited to take part in the challenge on Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March to be in with a chance of winning tickets to Ireland v England in the RBS Six Nations. For more information visit www.lucozadesport.ie
