Conor Murray warns of threat from Tonga's ex-Munster star Malakai Fekitoa
FAMILIAR FACE: Malakai Fekitoa during the Tonga Captain’s Run at Stade de Beaujoire, Nantes. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Conor Murray has warned supporters looking forward to Ireland’s World Cup pool clash with Tonga tonight to expect a massive physical threat from former team-mate Malakai Fekitoa and his cohorts.
Ireland’s starting scrum-half played with the ex-All Black centre, who has joined Benetton for this season, at Munster in 2022-23 and credits the former Toulon and Wasps star with helping to ignite his province’s end-of-season run to the URC title. Yet Murray, who also played against Fekitoa for Ireland against New Zealand in 2016 and in a Champions Cup quarter-final at Thomond Park in 2018, knows what damage the repatriated Tongan centre and his team-mates can do.
“I’ve trained against him a lot as well and he’s a tough, tough competitor,” Murray said. “He’s a great fella and he really bought into our culture when he was at Munster.
"He wasn’t involved at the start of the season but he was the ultimate pro, always doing extras, always looking after himself really well. He fought his way back into the Munster team and he was a big part of our end-of-season run. He’s such a nice guy and he actually led really well throughout the year in terms of his rugby knowledge.
"Obviously being an All Black and where he is now – he’s been around the world and played. Really professional and a really good leader. He was brilliant to young lads around the squad.
“And obviously on the pitch he’s a massive threat. You saw that towards the end of the season with Munster. He’s really physical.
"He’s a ridiculous athlete and he’s quite intelligent as well so he can bring players like Piutau in and set them free, too.
"Their back-line is littered with guys the size and pace of Malakai so yeah, we have to be on our guard for those guys.”
To emphasise that point, assistant coach Simon Easterby yesterday reminded the Ireland players they will need to take a big step up defensively when they face the attack-minded Tongans.
The Irish made just 62 tackles in their opening Pool B game at the World Cup seven days ago as they completed a 12-try, 82-8 rout of rank outsiders Romania in Bordeaux. Yet their next assignment looks to be a lot more challenging with the Tongans, in addition to their former All Black quartet, captained by ex-New Zealand U20 tighthead prop Ben Tameifuna who forms part of an all-French Top 14 front row weighing in at 387 kilogrammes, almost 12kg per man heavier than their Irish counterparts.
Defence coach Easterby is expecting a testing examination of his side’s credentials.
“They've got some of the best open field runners in world rugby,” Easterby said of the Tongans following yesterday’s eve of match training session at the stadium.
“They've got guys in the forward pack that can mix it, they can offload. We've seen them in the URC over the last couple of seasons, a couple of players that play in Wales.
“And then in the backline, they've got attacking threats throughout their backline. It's a real challenge for us defensively, it's one that we're probably ready for after the Romania game. “We didn't have to get through that much work without the ball. It's going to be a big step up from the challenge Romania threw at us.”
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