Murray a bit of a genius, gushes delighted Penney

It lasted less than half an hour but Conor Murray’s performance off the Munster bench against Leinster was enough to inform head coach Rob Penney that his scrum-half is destined for the very top in world rugby.

That Murray’s delayed reintegration to the Munster team after an extended break following the Lions tour came in a victory over near neighbours and on a night when starting scrum-half Duncan Williams delivered perhaps his best display for the province immediately put Penney in a good mood.

Yet the first-choice number nine showed in 27 minutes on the field at Thomond Park on Saturday night that he is a half-back with a bright future who has already developed along a very acute learning curve.