A century later, Murray comes full circle and again fights to prove his worth 

Eleven years after his debut in green when he first auditioned for the No.9 jersey, the Munster veteran again finds an opportunity to deliver 

BOKS BERTH: Ireland's Conor Murray celebrates after the Guinness Six Nations match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Pic: PA

It may be a 100th Ireland cap for Conor Murray on Saturday evening but aside from the pride and emotion that comes with reaching that milestone, the scrum-half will view his start against South Africa as another opportunity to reclaim the number nine jersey on a more permanent basis.

That is the challenge Andy Farrell has set the 33-year-old having handed him a first start for the national team in almost a year. More than 11 years on from his Ireland debut in a World Cup warm-up match against France in Bordeaux, Murray is once again fighting for the starting spot. Back then, on an August afternoon at Stade Chaban-Delmas, the 22-year-old Munster rookie was a distinct fourth place in the scrum-half pecking order behind that day’s starter Eoin Reddan, Grand Slam winner Tomas O’Leary and Isaac Boss.