Conor Murray: You can’t be quiet on the rugby field

It would be no surprise to pick up a tabloid newspaper today and see Conor Murray mocked up to resemble John Wayne’s Sean Thornton character in The Quiet Man. Most likely in that scene where he biffs Victor McLaglen.

It was Joe Schmidt who got the strong, silent stereotype thing going yesterday when he discussed the attributes Munster’s scrum-half brings to his role, and the team in general, but few shrinking violets thrive on the open prairies of Test rugby.

“I suppose you can’t be quiet on the field,” said Murray. “It’s part and parcel of your job. That’s something that’s been worked on since I was a young fella, getting that out of you and guiding people around the pitch and being vocal. On the pitch, it’s certainly not the case but off the pitch I’m probably a laid-back, type guy. But I still work as hard as anyone else, get all my training done and contribute to the team as much as I can. It’s just a lot of different people in the squad.”