Versatile Jordi Murphy ready for the next level

Just 18 months have passed since Jordi Murphy made his senior bow for Ireland with six minutes against England in the Six Nations, and yet the Leinster back row believes he is a very different beast now to the one that debuted at test level.

Murphy’s progress is, in fact, symbolic of just how much can happen in one World Cup cycle. This time four years ago, he was coming off the back of a stint at the Junior World Championships with the U20s and just about to make his Leinster debut.

Now he finds himself on the brink of a place in Joe Schmidt’s squad for the World Cup: one of those players who will hope to fall the right side of the sword when the Ireland coach makes his final cut at the end of the month.

“Obviously there is nerves, but it’s no different to the Six Nations,” he claims.

“It’s one of those things. You want to be involved in the squad every single time. You go out and train in Carton House with Ireland. Obviously it’s the World Cup. It only comes around every four years.”

Murphy is still only 24 but he has already established a reputation as an effective ball carrier and someone with an eye for a try - 13 for Leinster though none yet for Ireland.“The first few caps you’ve got the nerves. I’ve still got the nerves when I play, but I definitely feel more comfortable in an Irish shirt and in the environment and that I can express myself a bit more. I still haven’t played at the level I want to play at when I’m wearing a green jersey, but I think I’m getting there.”

Regarded primarily as a blindside flanker, four of Murphy’s 11 caps have been made from a berth in the starting XV and the opening warm-up match against Wales two weekends ago was actually the first time he wore number six.

Against Argentina two summers ago, and again against Italy and England in the 2015 Six Nations, he stood in at number eight in the absence of Jamie Heaslip who was rested for that tour to South America and then injured for segments of the championship.

That versatility is gold dust come World Cup time and Murphy again demonstrated an ability to move outside his comfort zone against Wales in Cardiff when positioned at the front of the lineout.

“You have to be versatile when it comes to the back row,” he pointed out.

No-one would dispute that and Joe Schmidt is clearly a fan of what Murphy brings to the table given it was the Kiwi who gave him his shot both at Leinster and with Ireland, while Tommy O’Donnell’s unfortunate injury offers him a better shot at making the 31.

“He’s very quiet,” said Schmidt of him last spring before that England game. “Jordi gets on with the job, he gets on with other people. He is a workaholic around the pitch, gets through a lot of work both sides of the ball, be it carrying or cleaning out or making tackles.”

Being selected at eight for that game against England was, he admits, the biggest moment of his career and he met it head on with a powerful performance.

The task now, if selected, is to bring that to the table time and again against the world’s best back rows if required week on week.

He believes he is ready.

“Everyone needs to bring their ‘A’ game with them to the World Cup ... I don’t know if I am quite at that level yet or whether I want to be saying that to you lads, but if I was going into a match I would have confidence in my own ability that I could do a job.”