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Leicester’s star can be a Celtic Tiger too
By Robert Mulhern
Sporting heroes and familiar fixtures are as much to do with Saturday
afternoons as washing the car and cutting the grass. Geordan Murphy’s
performance against Scotland on Saturday reminded us why sometimes it’s
better to leave the car dirty and let the grass grow.
Murphy sparkled in his preferred position with a display that justified
a telly-bound afternoon distracting us from pending jobs.
He’s been around too long to be considered a new hero but by virtue
of his fleeting brilliance Murphy is just that.
It’s a damn shame we haven’t been exposed to more of this
expression and when the Man Of The Match Award came it was bittersweet.
Playing at full-back, a confident Murphy could still be what Cristiano
Ronaldo currently is to Manchester United: An elegant, if defensively
flawed, match winner.
Looking back we can only guess at what might have been for both him and
Ireland.
Now looking forward we must wonder at his probable redundancy against
Wales.
We shouldn’t be surprised, Murphy certainly won’t be. For
12 years he’s regularly been ignored and overlooked, everywhere
but Leicester of course.
An outstanding Leinster schools campaign with Newbridge College in 1996
was not enough to earn him a place on the Irish schools tour to Australia
that same year and later he moved to England when significant home interest
failed to materialise.
A tip-off from Naas coach Kevin West landed him a three-week trial in
Leicester but even then Tiger’s coach Bob Dwyer wasn’t completely
convinced.
Martin Johnson’s mother intervened to stop Murphy slipping back
to Ireland following a management oversight and ever since he’s
been more to the English and Leicester than he has been to Ireland. In
England they’ve embraced his star qualities.
It’s hard to blossom out of position in an icy atmosphere but on
Saturday, despite rushed preparations and questionable support from his
manager, Murphy reminded us why he’s loved in Leicester.
There, performances like the one we were treated to last week are the
rule rather than the exception.
Playing out of position for Ireland, his success has been difficult to
measure. Just like this team’s term in office.
But now in spite of the coach and by accident Ireland are in with a real
chance of winning the Championship.
If Murphy’s picked in the right position against Wales it will represent
an endorsement of both his and the team’s attacking abilities.
A victory for attack over defence, a symbol of expansion and trust.
The statement would be a new directive for this set of players. One that
would see them challenge for the Championship by playing to their strengths.
More likely though, our knockout punch will watch the action from the
bench as the Irish backs fall between the stool of conformity and the
stool of natural expression.
And we’ll be left looking out at the long grass hoping for more
Murphy magic.
Hoping for more of what we got against Scotland. Justification for spending
another Saturday afternoon in front of the telly. |
