Murray's meteoric rise hits overdrive

2011 RUGBY WORLD CUP:A FEW months from the end of last season, and even up until the Irish squad was finalised, you would have been given considerable odds on a 22-year-old scrum-half making his first Test start in the opening match against the USA Eagles. But such has been Conor Murray's unrelenting progress in that time that he will partner Jonathan Sexton in New Plymouth on Sunday.

Whatever about being the de facto first-choice, it’s a rapid rise from nowhere at season’s end to apparent fifth choice at the start of pre-season. One always sensed that the Irish management had earmarked Tomás O’Leary to counter the threat posed by Will Genia in Ireland’s second game next weekend against Australia, but Murray’s physicality makes him a viable option for that game too.

“He’s been going well at training and we said we’d judge it off that. If we’re to know, now is the time to know,” explained Declan Kidney on revealing his opening hand, though he was understandably reluctant to have Murray’s selection seen as some kind of trial for next week.

“I think I’d be giving a mixed message if I thought we were doing anything with a view to next week. It’s purely on the back of what he’s done, he deserves a go and even though it is his first start, it’s with a view to him doing well this week, and then whatever happens next week will happen.

“But we think he’s good enough to start for us. It’s a big call giving him his first start in the Rugby World Cup, but what he’s been doing I believe merits it.”

Murray’s inclusion is undoubtedly the most eye-catching of an interesting selection. Seán O’Brien and Rob Kearney have been given another week to get themselves fully up to speed after recovering from groin and knee injuries, meaning Geordan Murphy and Shane Jennings start, as does Tom Court in the absence of Cian Healy.

Kearney now hasn’t played in four weeks. “But I want him to get up to full speed a bit more often, and once he does that he’s shown he can just come in,” said Kidney, citing his comeback games away to Scotland and France. “The fact that he’s not playing doesn’t rule him out by any means for next week.”

Gordon D’Arcy has made a remarkably quick recovery and is fit enough to partner Brian O’Driscoll, both of whom will feel they need game time.

Andrew Trimble is more entitled than most to feel a little hard done by in missing out on the wing to Keith Earls given he was the only player to start all four of Ireland’s August tests and he had been one of the few form players.

Admittedly, it would have been tough on Keith Earls too after being pitched into the outside centre role away to France and at home to England. But of the two Trimble has been the form player.

“You’ve three wingers that are going well for us,” said Kidney. “Of Keith’s three games, two have been in the centre and I just felt that it was right to give him the go on the wing because he’s only had one run on the wing and he’s done well for us on the wing. Tommy (Bowe) has just come back from injury and had one game under his belt, and that’s why Andrew is missing out. He’s unlucky, he’s done very well for us in all four games, it’s just a good position for us to be in.”

It is a statement of faith in Earls’ undoubted ability, and with Sexton apparently covering inside centre ala the end game at home to France, as was suspected at the time, this has allowed Kidney elbow room to include Trimble on the bench to the exclusion of Paddy Wallace.

There, Trimble, Jerry Flannery (who a little surprisingly misses out from the start) and co are joined by Donnacha Ryan, whose versatility in being able to also cover the backrow presumably contributes to him being selected ahead of Leo Cullen.

All in all, for all the planning, certain component parts go into this game a little more undercooked than the management would have liked. Bowe and O’Driscoll are making only their second appearances of the season and there’s another new half-back combination

In all of this too, though, significantly the Irish management appear to have given themselves some further elbow room to make further changes for next week’s pivotal game against Australia.

Asked if this team can make a statement first up, Kidney said: “What I believe is it’s one that can win a match, and that’s what a statement is.”

He believed Eddie O’Sullivan’s insider knowledge would help make this a tough game. “Eddie will know strengths and weaknesses. He’s a top-class coach and this game will mean an awful lot to him. It’s been designated from a long time out.

With the date (10th anniversary of 9/11) that’s in it there’ll be a lot of emotion floating around and he’ll be a good man to keep a lid on that to use that in a good way too. I think it’s good enough to play a match for us and hopefully get a result.”

Ireland(v USA): G Murphy (Leicester); T Bowe (Ospreys), B O'Driscoll (Leinster, capt), G D'Arcy (Leinster), K Earls (Munster); J Sexton (Leinster), C Murray (Munster); T Court (Ulster), R Best (Ulster), M Ross (Leinster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), P O'Connell (Munster), S Ferris (Ulster), S Jennings (Leinster), J Heaslip (Leinster). Replacements:J Flannery (Munster), T Buckley (Sale Sharks), D Ryan (Munster), D Leamy (Munster), E Reddan (Leinster), R O'Gara (Munster), A Trimble (Ulster).