Murray living the Ireland dream

HURLING yourself off a ledge on the side of a mountain makes for an exhilarating descent, as long as you’re attached to a bungee cord, but for a young scrum-half thrown into a World Cup campaign, the ascents tend to be just as thrilling.

That is certainly the case for Conor Murray, who just 10 months ago was making his first start for Munster in his final year in the academy set-up and now finds himself in contention for the Ireland No. 9 jersey for the Pool C opening game against the United States on Sunday.

For now, though, the 22-year-old from Patrickswell, Limerick, is enjoying the attractions of Queenstown, Ireland’s pre-tournament base in New Zealand’s South Island, where the players have been given a little free time between training to explore some of the safer adventure sports on offer ahead of today’s first full-contact training session.