THE LADS AT home in Patrickswell GAA club have already been onto Conor Murray about joining the junior football team.
The Munster, Ireland, and Lions legend is giving it serious consideration.
Murray’s professional rugby career is over, but he’s still going to the gym, doing plenty of running, and feels fit and strong. He’s one of the lucky ones to be able to walk away from rugby without any serious injuries. And he knows he will need an outlet for his competitive side sooner rather than later.
So Patrickswell might have a high-profile new signing on their hands.
Murray is certain he won’t be going into rugby coaching. The level of total commitment required and the probability of having to move abroad don’t appeal. Murray and his wife, Joanna, have a 10-month-old son, Alfie, and they’re moving into a new house soon.
He says he’d be happy to help out scrum-halves with a session here or there and to chat with young players trying to make their way in the game, but he feels he’s done with full-time, hands-on involvement in the game for now.
Murray has enjoyed doing some punditry work, including with Sky Sports during the Lions tour, so that’s likely to be one way he stays connected with rugby.
The Limerick man is involved in Morrissey’s of Doonbeg, a restaurant in County Clare, as well as Pitch Golf in Dublin, so he has a few business interests already. Those things won’t be his new full-time day job, though. Murray admits he’s “a bit of a busybody,” so he’ll need to figure the next chapter out in good time.
For now, he doesn’t want to rush into something he regrets in a few months, and he’s enjoying more free time with his family.
He’s been busy in the last few days promoting his new autobiography, Cloud Nine, which he did with sportswriter Tommy Conlon, who had worked with Keith Earls on his brilliantly received Fight Or Flight.
Conor Murray on punditry duty with Sky Sports. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Murray has been in the public limelight for many years now but he’s never been one to seek headlines, so putting his name to a book was “quite a vulnerable thing to do.”
He ended up enjoying the process of working with Conlon. The discussions they had allowed him to enjoy the remarkable moments of his career all over again, as well as raising some tougher emotions about difficult times on and off the pitch.
“I think it helps with the whole retirement thing as well,” says Murray.
“It’s literally just to close the book on the rugby side of things.”
Murray’s forthright views on his latter days with Munster have caught attention since the book’s release on Thursday, with the former scrum-half labelling some of the province’s signings as “duds” and questioning why Munster didn’t bring in more world-class players.
He suggests Munster have been guilty of “penny pinching” with other things like travel to games. Murray is also scathing of former head coach Graham Rowntree.
Yet there are other sections of the book in which Murray’s joy of playing for Munster is clear, as is his love for his native province.
“The overall story in the book is, I would hope, a love letter to Munster because it’s the first jersey I ever dreamed of putting on,” says Murray.
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“I got to do it for so long, so that’s the bulk of it.”
Many Munster fans have only fond things to say about Rowntree, whose sudden departure from his role last season shocked them.
So Murray’s criticism of the Englishman, who is now head coach of Urayasu D-Rocks in Japan, will be jarring to those Munster fans.
Murray writes that he “didn’t rate him at all” as a coach, while he claims Rowntree spoke to him and other players in an “unacceptable” manner.
Yet Murray’s frustration in the final stages of his time with Munster continued even after Rowntree had left last season.
Murray after his last game at Thomond Park. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“I was giving it everything, I was being as professional as I always was, and I just wasn’t seeing the rewards or the game time,” says Murray.
“I’m competitive and I wanted to start every game, but I’m also a realist. I got the thinking behind it, you know, the changing of the guard with Craig [Casey]. That’s not the aim of what I said.
“It’s more just the respect. I didn’t feel that I got the respect that I deserved towards the end of the end of my career in Munster, didn’t get the game time, you know what I mean?
“I’m not a fella to go into the coach’s office and complain, and I’d rather get on with it.
“My last game in Thomond Park, we played Ulster and I got about 10 minutes off the bench. Then the week after, we played down in Cork against Benetton and I got about four minutes.
“I felt disrespected, but I didn’t complain because, you know, it’s obviously about the team at the time but I just didn’t feel I got the respect.
“But I loved talking about some of the best days of my life there in Munster. I have unbelievable friends from Munster. Zebo and Earlsy joined me on stage [on Thursday night at Thomond Park for the book launch] and we reminisced. We were supposed to be up there for 15 minutes, but we were up there for nearly an hour because we all had such fond memories.”
Murray says his criticism of Munster’s recruitment and how they’ve been run behind the scenes comes from a place of wanting better for the province he loves.
He won two trophies with Munster, the Magners League in 2011 and the URC in 2023, but hopes positive changes in the province will see them be far more successful in the future.
“We’ve made some really good signings, but at times we were kind of scratching our heads at some of the signings and wondering why we weren’t consulted as senior internationals who would know people who knew the person you’re trying to sign,” says Murray.
“I got a couple of ex-team-mates to proofread those chapters in particular and those thoughts were pretty universal across the experienced players, so I think it’s a lot of people.
“It’s not just me. Maybe I’m the first one to put it in a book, but it’s for Munster to do better. I don’t want them to fail at all. I want them to do really well, and this is something that probably needs to be looked at.
Murray celebrates the 2023 URC title. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“It’s not from a bad place, it’s just this could have been done better or this may have helped us on the quest for European silverware or whatever, so you know, maybe it needs to be looked at a bit.”
Murray hopes to see Munster rise back to the level of contending for Champions Cup titles under new boss Clayton McMillan, while he’s also looking forward to seeing how Ireland evolve as Andy Farrell returns full-time from his mission with the Lions.
With Murray, Peter O’Mahony, and Cian Healy having retired, Farrell’s group is now without its three most experienced figures but the former scrum-half is confident that Ireland will keep going in the right direction.
“The [2027] World Cup is coming up and I think they’ll be in a really good spot for that with Andy at the helm,” says Murray.
“I speak really highly of him in the book because that’s how I feel about him.
“I think he’ll be really aware… especially coming off the Lions tour where other players from the other nations probably got a little insight into the Irish game plan or the way Andy sees rugby, I’m sure they would have learned a lot, so Andy would be really aware that Ireland need to go again and improve again.
“Obviously, there’s a bit of a changing of the guard there but the players that are in there now are really exciting and there’s still that spine of the team.
“Dan Sheehan is probably the best hooker in the world comfortably now, and you’ve got James Ryan, Joe McCarthy, loads of guys like that, I could keep going.
“Jack Conan, who has just proven everyone wrong again, and then there’s Caelan Doris to come back injury, so there’s so many class players there.
“I’m really excited to see where they take it because they’re already in a great spot, but I think they’ll go again.”
Murray will keep in close touch with his friends who are still in the Ireland set-up. Indeed, he and his family just got back from a holiday in Portugal where they spent lots of time with Johnny Sexton and his family.
Murray is a huge fan of Andy Farrell. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Murray has left most of the WhatsApp groups for players but he and his fellow retirees have already been busy planning trips together. Those bonds don’t break easily.
And as Murray puts his own Ireland career into the rearview mirror, he says it has been nice to feel the gratitude and warmth from supporters for those big days he was part of.
There were tough times towards the end, including the vile abuse that came his way after Ireland’s last-gasp defeat to England in the 2024 Six Nations, but that won’t be Murray’s abiding memory.
“I genuinely always felt love and appreciation,” he says.
“Maybe with the England game and all that chatter around kicking the ball off and stuff, I felt a little bit different, but that wasn’t from Irish supporters or real Irish supporters.
“I quickly got over that and you know, as soon as we announced that we were leaving, it’s just the volume of people messaging you, coming up to you on the street or wherever it is, saying thank you and, you know, we had great days out watching you.
“That was really humbling and really appreciated on my end, my family’s end because with that Twickenham game where you got a good bit of abuse, you’re wondering what is the point of doing this?
“Then fast forward a year later, you’re retiring and you get all this love and appreciation.”
Cloud Nine: My Life in Rugby by Conor Murray with Tommy Conlon, published by Reach Sport, is out now.
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'It's not just me, maybe I'm the first to put it in a book. It's for Munster to do better'
THE LADS AT home in Patrickswell GAA club have already been onto Conor Murray about joining the junior football team.
The Munster, Ireland, and Lions legend is giving it serious consideration.
Murray’s professional rugby career is over, but he’s still going to the gym, doing plenty of running, and feels fit and strong. He’s one of the lucky ones to be able to walk away from rugby without any serious injuries. And he knows he will need an outlet for his competitive side sooner rather than later.
So Patrickswell might have a high-profile new signing on their hands.
Murray is certain he won’t be going into rugby coaching. The level of total commitment required and the probability of having to move abroad don’t appeal. Murray and his wife, Joanna, have a 10-month-old son, Alfie, and they’re moving into a new house soon.
He says he’d be happy to help out scrum-halves with a session here or there and to chat with young players trying to make their way in the game, but he feels he’s done with full-time, hands-on involvement in the game for now.
Murray has enjoyed doing some punditry work, including with Sky Sports during the Lions tour, so that’s likely to be one way he stays connected with rugby.
The Limerick man is involved in Morrissey’s of Doonbeg, a restaurant in County Clare, as well as Pitch Golf in Dublin, so he has a few business interests already. Those things won’t be his new full-time day job, though. Murray admits he’s “a bit of a busybody,” so he’ll need to figure the next chapter out in good time.
For now, he doesn’t want to rush into something he regrets in a few months, and he’s enjoying more free time with his family.
He’s been busy in the last few days promoting his new autobiography, Cloud Nine, which he did with sportswriter Tommy Conlon, who had worked with Keith Earls on his brilliantly received Fight Or Flight.
Murray has been in the public limelight for many years now but he’s never been one to seek headlines, so putting his name to a book was “quite a vulnerable thing to do.”
He ended up enjoying the process of working with Conlon. The discussions they had allowed him to enjoy the remarkable moments of his career all over again, as well as raising some tougher emotions about difficult times on and off the pitch.
“I think it helps with the whole retirement thing as well,” says Murray.
“It’s literally just to close the book on the rugby side of things.”
Murray’s forthright views on his latter days with Munster have caught attention since the book’s release on Thursday, with the former scrum-half labelling some of the province’s signings as “duds” and questioning why Munster didn’t bring in more world-class players.
He suggests Munster have been guilty of “penny pinching” with other things like travel to games. Murray is also scathing of former head coach Graham Rowntree.
Yet there are other sections of the book in which Murray’s joy of playing for Munster is clear, as is his love for his native province.
“The overall story in the book is, I would hope, a love letter to Munster because it’s the first jersey I ever dreamed of putting on,” says Murray.
“I got to do it for so long, so that’s the bulk of it.”
Many Munster fans have only fond things to say about Rowntree, whose sudden departure from his role last season shocked them.
So Murray’s criticism of the Englishman, who is now head coach of Urayasu D-Rocks in Japan, will be jarring to those Munster fans.
Murray writes that he “didn’t rate him at all” as a coach, while he claims Rowntree spoke to him and other players in an “unacceptable” manner.
Yet Murray’s frustration in the final stages of his time with Munster continued even after Rowntree had left last season.
“I was giving it everything, I was being as professional as I always was, and I just wasn’t seeing the rewards or the game time,” says Murray.
“I’m competitive and I wanted to start every game, but I’m also a realist. I got the thinking behind it, you know, the changing of the guard with Craig [Casey]. That’s not the aim of what I said.
“It’s more just the respect. I didn’t feel that I got the respect that I deserved towards the end of the end of my career in Munster, didn’t get the game time, you know what I mean?
“I’m not a fella to go into the coach’s office and complain, and I’d rather get on with it.
“My last game in Thomond Park, we played Ulster and I got about 10 minutes off the bench. Then the week after, we played down in Cork against Benetton and I got about four minutes.
“I felt disrespected, but I didn’t complain because, you know, it’s obviously about the team at the time but I just didn’t feel I got the respect.
“But I loved talking about some of the best days of my life there in Munster. I have unbelievable friends from Munster. Zebo and Earlsy joined me on stage [on Thursday night at Thomond Park for the book launch] and we reminisced. We were supposed to be up there for 15 minutes, but we were up there for nearly an hour because we all had such fond memories.”
Murray says his criticism of Munster’s recruitment and how they’ve been run behind the scenes comes from a place of wanting better for the province he loves.
He won two trophies with Munster, the Magners League in 2011 and the URC in 2023, but hopes positive changes in the province will see them be far more successful in the future.
“We’ve made some really good signings, but at times we were kind of scratching our heads at some of the signings and wondering why we weren’t consulted as senior internationals who would know people who knew the person you’re trying to sign,” says Murray.
“I got a couple of ex-team-mates to proofread those chapters in particular and those thoughts were pretty universal across the experienced players, so I think it’s a lot of people.
“It’s not just me. Maybe I’m the first one to put it in a book, but it’s for Munster to do better. I don’t want them to fail at all. I want them to do really well, and this is something that probably needs to be looked at.
“It’s not from a bad place, it’s just this could have been done better or this may have helped us on the quest for European silverware or whatever, so you know, maybe it needs to be looked at a bit.”
Murray hopes to see Munster rise back to the level of contending for Champions Cup titles under new boss Clayton McMillan, while he’s also looking forward to seeing how Ireland evolve as Andy Farrell returns full-time from his mission with the Lions.
With Murray, Peter O’Mahony, and Cian Healy having retired, Farrell’s group is now without its three most experienced figures but the former scrum-half is confident that Ireland will keep going in the right direction.
“The [2027] World Cup is coming up and I think they’ll be in a really good spot for that with Andy at the helm,” says Murray.
“I speak really highly of him in the book because that’s how I feel about him.
“I think he’ll be really aware… especially coming off the Lions tour where other players from the other nations probably got a little insight into the Irish game plan or the way Andy sees rugby, I’m sure they would have learned a lot, so Andy would be really aware that Ireland need to go again and improve again.
“Obviously, there’s a bit of a changing of the guard there but the players that are in there now are really exciting and there’s still that spine of the team.
“Dan Sheehan is probably the best hooker in the world comfortably now, and you’ve got James Ryan, Joe McCarthy, loads of guys like that, I could keep going.
“Jack Conan, who has just proven everyone wrong again, and then there’s Caelan Doris to come back injury, so there’s so many class players there.
“I’m really excited to see where they take it because they’re already in a great spot, but I think they’ll go again.”
Murray will keep in close touch with his friends who are still in the Ireland set-up. Indeed, he and his family just got back from a holiday in Portugal where they spent lots of time with Johnny Sexton and his family.
Murray has left most of the WhatsApp groups for players but he and his fellow retirees have already been busy planning trips together. Those bonds don’t break easily.
And as Murray puts his own Ireland career into the rearview mirror, he says it has been nice to feel the gratitude and warmth from supporters for those big days he was part of.
There were tough times towards the end, including the vile abuse that came his way after Ireland’s last-gasp defeat to England in the 2024 Six Nations, but that won’t be Murray’s abiding memory.
“I genuinely always felt love and appreciation,” he says.
“Maybe with the England game and all that chatter around kicking the ball off and stuff, I felt a little bit different, but that wasn’t from Irish supporters or real Irish supporters.
“I quickly got over that and you know, as soon as we announced that we were leaving, it’s just the volume of people messaging you, coming up to you on the street or wherever it is, saying thank you and, you know, we had great days out watching you.
“That was really humbling and really appreciated on my end, my family’s end because with that Twickenham game where you got a good bit of abuse, you’re wondering what is the point of doing this?
“Then fast forward a year later, you’re retiring and you get all this love and appreciation.”
Cloud Nine: My Life in Rugby by Conor Murray with Tommy Conlon, published by Reach Sport, is out now.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
cloud nine Conor Murray Ireland Munster Retirement