Van Graan hails ‘the genius’ of Conor Murray

As Conor Murray squirmed on the Aviva Stadium turf, his foot trapped at the bottom of a ruck full of Irish and Welsh bodies, Johann van Graan feared the worst.

If he had his way, the Munster head coach would have wrapped his star scrum-half in cotton wool for the rest of the championship, never to grace the Six Nations again and it will have been only half-jokingly that the South African made that very plea to Ireland boss Joe Schmidt in the aftermath of Saturday’s Irish victory.

Murray got up and finished the game, even kicking a vital 74th-minute penalty as half-back partner Johnny Sexton received treatment, to help the national team keeps its unbeaten start to the 2018 tournament intact. While his tenacity made van Graan proud, the Munster chief would like to see him back in red when the province welcomes Toulon to Thomond Park on March 31 for their Champions Cup quarter-final.