Conor Murray: We must stifle French flair to get win in Paris

Conor Murray at Ireland training at the IRFU High Performance Centre earlier this week. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Conor Murray and France go back a long way. They were the team he faced when he got his first taste of Test rugby in 2011, for a World Cup warm-up in Bordeaux, the side against whom he clinched his first Six Nations winners medal in 2014 and the challenge Ireland’s scrum-half must face once more if he wants to add to his trophy haul tomorrow night.

Murray, 31, will play against France for the 11th time when he makes his 83rd appearance for Ireland and though the fortunes of Les Bleus have fluctuated wildly during his Test career, the Munster star has experienced one constant from them throughout his near-decade in the international game.