Jack Murphy ready to follow footsteps of brother Ben
If he is selected to face France at Stade Maurice David in Aix-en-Provence next Saturday, Jack Murphy will be fulfilling a dream he has held for as long as he can remember.
A product of both Seapoint Rugby Club in Dublin and Wicklow’s Presentation College Bray, Murphy always had his sights set on making the cut for the Ireland U20s. His current team-mate at Clontarf in the All-Ireland League, Murphy’s older brother Ben picked up a Triple Crown at this age grade in 2020 alongside future senior internationals Jack Crowley, Joe McCarthy and Cian Prendergast.
The younger Murphy sibling was presented with an opportunity to impress in warm-up games either side of Christmas and will hope he has done enough to earn a starting berth for next weekend’s U20s Six Nations opener against the French.
“I’ve always dreamed of playing U20s, I’ve always looked at this as the year I have to get ready for. To be here now is pretty special. I think it’s the pinnacle of anyone’s career who’s from Ireland to play for their country,” Murphy remarked at a recent Six Nations squad announcement for the Ireland U20s.
“Seeing the last few years at U20 level, and the last few years for the senior team as well, it shows you what the country thinks of it. To play for Ireland is the biggest honour that you can have in your career, definitely, for me.”
There will be a strong dynamic at play for the Murphy family in the forthcoming Championship as Jack’s father Richie is now heading into his fourth season as head coach of the Ireland U20s.
Yet while acknowledging that he has been a hugely influential figure throughout his development in underage rugby, Jack stressed that it very much becomes a player-coach relationship once this father and son duo touch down at the IRFU’s High Performance Centre.
“When I’m in camp and in training, he’s Richie the coach. Nothing will change there. When I go home, he’s my Dad again. You can put that to the side when you’re at home. When you’re in camp, it’s pretty full on with your coach,” Murphy added.
“He’s been a massive influence. I think like any father would, who has had a career in sports. He’s been great with me, tough on me. Ever since I was young I always had an interest in rugby and we kind of flew with it from there.”