Murray should stay at Munster, says ROG
On the day he returned to his native Cork for a testimonial dinner attended last night by 800 guests at City Hall, the retired Munster legend, now based in Paris as an assistant coach at Racing Metro, said 24-year-old former half-back partner Murray should stay with his home province.
“He’s out of contract but you’d hate to see him leave Munster because Munster is my team, or the team I played for, and you want the best players playing for Munster. So, Conor needs to play for Munster,” said O’Gara.
Like several of his Irish international colleagues including fellow British & Irish Lions heroes Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip, Murray is out of contract at the end of this season and has been linked with a string of top clubs in England and France. Big-spending Racing Metro have emerged as a favourite speculative destination following their capture of Jonny Sexton from Leinster last summer.
O’Gara did not deny Murray was coveted by the club he also joined during the summer, but he dampened suggestions the scrum-half was in Racing president Jacky Lorenzetti’s crosshairs by inferring Wales and Lions scrum-half Mike Phillips and Castres’ Rory Kockott were the preferred targets to partner Sexton.
“I think everyone who plays rugby is linked with Racing Metro now,” O’Gara told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny yesterday.
“They have a big budget, they’re an ambitious club, they want to sign the best players and Conor fits into that category. He has definitely been considered. Mike Phillips is out of contract, Rory Kockott is out of contract and there’s about six or seven potential candidates. That’s what happens at the top clubs. As a player you might not be aware of this but when you move to the other side of the fence you realise it is a business and you go after the best players.”
A move for either the already-French-based Welshman or the South African would make equal sense for Racing. Phillips is out of favour at Bayonne as a result of alleged disciplinary problems& while Kockott was the Top 14 player of last season when Castres were crowned champions.
O’Gara was set to enjoy a star-studded gala evening at City Hall last night and he told Kenny: “I’m completely taken aback by it... it’s essentially [a chance to] have a good night with the people of Cork and thanking them for theirundivided support and loyalty over 16 years of pure joy and entertainment. These people make me feel 10 feet tall and I can’t thank them enough.”
- The Irish Examiner has produced a special tribute booklet for the Munster and Ireland rugby legend, packed with analysis and highlights from commentators such as Donal Lenihan, Simon Lewis, and Charlie Mulqueen. Download it for free here
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