LAST UPDATE | 29 Jun 2021
THERE WERE CONGRATULATIONS aplenty for Conor Murray in Lions camp on Saturday night as his team-mates found out that Warren Gatland had appointed the scrum-half as the new tour captain.
As ever in rugby circles, it wasn’t long until the slagging get underway.
No one is referring to the Limerick man by his actual name anymore among the Lions squad.
“It’s ‘Skips’ now so I’m trying to get rid of that one,” said Murray this afternoon with a smile.
The new Lions captain spoke for just over 25 minutes on a Zoom call with journalists in Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland. As always, he was composed, articulate and personable – some of the characteristics that Gatland likes.
Throughout the press conference, Murray hammered home the point that with more vocal and outspoken leaders around him in the Lions squad, he doesn’t need to pretend to be someone he’s not just because he’s now the captain.
“You’re chosen because of what you do already and I don’t want to try and become someone different, trying to force things that aren’t that natural to you,” said Murray.
“I think it’s really important that I focus on that and hopefully lead by what I’m doing.”
He has knowledgeable friends back in Ireland to turn to if he needs any experienced advice. Paul O’Connell, Rory Best, and Peter O’Mahony were among those to get in touch with Murray and wish him well in recent days, as well as leaving the channel open for the Lions scrum-half to call if he needs to bounce anything off them.
Not that Murray is attempting to replicate what they brought as leaders.
“I have the utmost respect for all of them but it goes back to not changing what you do or who you are. It’s really important you remain true to yourself. Warren chose me because of what he’s seen out of me on the last two tours and obviously how I play the game.
“That’s got to be top of my list, that I don’t try to change. That’s where it gets dangerous and you probably start to get a little bit distracted if you do try to change.
“Those lads are there on the end of the phone if anything crops up and I’m thinking about something but it’s a clean sheet for me.”
It has been “a crazy couple of days” for Murray but he also took the time to have a word with the injured Alun Wyn Jones, who was supposed to be the Lions captain, before the squad flew out to South Africa.
“He said, ‘Just be yourself. You’ve been doing it all along over the past two tours. Just continue that.’ He gave me a pat on the shoulder and said he had full faith in me.”
