Murphy not worried about numbers in the wearing of the green

HE may have been as sturdy as an oak tree at full-back in Leicester’s recent sacking of Thomond Park, but Geordan Murphy is willing to accept any role in an Irish team tipped to make a big shot at the Grand Slam.

Like Henry Paul and quite a few more number 15s before him, Murphy was subjected to an aerial bombardment by the home team. Eight times he braced himself for the dropping missile and only once was he found wanting.

Considering the wet and windy conditions, it was an impressive display and one he managed to top off with the cherry of a first-half try.