Conor Murray ready to face France after father seriously injured in collision

GOOD TO GO: Conor Murray during the Ireland rugby captain's run at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Ireland expect to line out as named against France at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday with Conor Murray among the players to have taken part in the squad’s ‘captain’s run’ training session at the Dublin venue on Friday morning.

Murray’s father Gerry suffered a serious injury in a road accident earlier this week and was subsequently taken to Cork University Hospital, but Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty confirmed that the scrum-half will be starting the Six Nations tie this weekend.

SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

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SIX NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

Your home for the latest news, views and analysis of this year's Six Nations Championship from our award winning sports team.

“Yeah, he’s in good form,” Fogarty confirmed. 

“He’s back in with the group and he’s in good form and he’s looking forward to tomorrow. We wish his dad the very best from the squad and a quick recovery.” 

Andy Farrell’s squad has had its fair share of injuries to contend with in the last week but there are no more reported issues as the brace to play a game that, as with last year, may decide who claims the tournament title next month.

“It’s a big game, it’s the next game, but it’s a big game,” said Fogarty. “The last two times we played these guys we didn’t come out the right side of it so we want to be the best version of ourselves and I guess that’s what people are focusing on now.

“That’s what the lads are focusing on now, putting on a performance that we can be proud of. We felt we didn’t do it the last two times so there’s a little bit of thought around that, let’s make sure we’re putting out the best performance against this team.” 

Ireland go into the game without their first-choice hooker or tighthead prop with Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong both on the casualty list but Farrell has made it a point to future-proof his squad against such blows.

Rob Herring steps in to the centre of the front row with Finlay Bealham once again wearing the No.3 jersey and Fogarty exuded a certainty and a confidence that they and the rest of the Ireland pack can get this done.

Avoiding a repeat of the scrummaging problems that impacted them so much when they met the French last year would be a major plus, both from a psychological perspective and given the impact the setpiece has on the flow of the game and the scoreboard.

“The battle at scrum time is going to play a big part. It’s a challenge for sure. Wayne Barnes is going to be the ref and there are going to be bits around the bind, space between their bind and making sure that’s maintained, so they’re not loading on us. There are still bits like that that have to be boxed off.

“We’ve had a good two weeks. Rob Herring is very experienced at what he does, he learned from the best in Rory Best. He’s got a really good feel, he fires well on set and that’s what we want. We want to get across the line, get some height and it will be a big battle. It’s something we’re looking forward to.”