Murray: Bigger the game the more I enjoy it

Nobody expected Conor Murray to be Ireland’s first choice scrum-half during the 2011 World Cup — or to overtake his Welsh and English rivals in the battle for the No 9 jersey on the & Lions tour last year.

But that’s more or less how it panned out for the 28-times capped 25-year-old from Patrickswell, now established as Munster and Ireland’s go-to guy and who will be a key man in the major games that lie ahead. It won’t be easy to live up to that high level of expectation.

“I don’t see it as pressure,” he insists. “When you are younger, you dream of playing in the big games, of being a big player or whatever they want to label you as. I enjoy that responsibility. Over the last couple of years, I found myself getting a bit better andbecoming more confident and trusting myself more with that added so-called pressure.