MURPHY READY FOR NAAS TO KICK ON FROM A SUCCESSFUL YEAR
Having hit the ground running in AIL Division 1B following their promotion earlier in the year, Johne Murphy feels that 2017 could be a big year for Naas Rugby Club. But 2016 wasn’t all happiness and Murphy spoke to DAIRE WALSH about how the death of former Munster team-mate Anthony Foley had a big impact on him
By Daire Walsh
He may be less than 18 months into his role as a player/coach in Forenaughts, but heading into 2017, Johne Murphy has Naas RFC on the right track.
Since returning to the domestic club scene (after bringing the curtain down on a successful professional career), Murphy has bolstered his list of honours with an Ulster Bank League Division 2A title – which was secured at home to Skerries in their final game of the 2015/16 campaign.
Indeed, with five wins from nine games so far in Division 1B, Naas find themselves just outside the top-four heading into the New Year. Murphy feels they have shown in the past four months that they are capable of competing at this level, and believes a win against Old Wesley at the end of January would set them up perfectly for the remainder of the season.
“I think in the calendar year, we’ve only lost four games. All in all, it’s been a good year. A good calendar year, but I think the last four months have probably shown exactly where we’re at. Given the level that we’ve stepped up, and how we’ve actually acclimatised to it very well,” Murphy remarked.
“I think we probably played well enough certainly to get a draw, if not sneak a win out of it [against Old Wesley in Donnybrook on December 2]. I think if we can right that wrong on Friday night on the last weekend of January, we’d be in a decent spot.”
Given promotion to the second-tier of Irish rugby, it was important that Naas hit the ground running in the early weeks of the new term. This is what they managed to do in their first game of the season against Galwegians at Forenaughts, and Murphy was eager to examine the team’s performance on a game-by-game basis from that point onwards.
“It was great to be at home first off, and then obviously to get a win kind of set us up, and just gave everyone a bit of confidence that we certainly belong in this league. It was great to get that start, but like I said to the lads after, it was only a start, and we’ve continued on in that pattern. We’ve very much taken every game as it comes, and if we continue to do that, hopefully we’ll be top-four come the end of the year.”
Murphy has continued to be a regular feature at outside centre for Naas since the beginning of the new season, and he has been joined in an impressive backline by Fionn Carr – who arrived in south Kildare upon the conclusion of his contract with Guinness PRO12 champions Connacht.
The ex-Newbridge College star has openly admitted that he has unfinished business with the professional game, but Murphy nevertheless hailed the impact he has made in a short space of time with the club.
“Fionn has made a huge impact. I think he’s scored nearly in every game. That alone is a massive boost to us, but it also probably shows intent of where we want to go as a club. To have a professional Mini come back, and be part of the journey that we’re on at the moment. It sends out a huge statement to everyone.”
“He’s brought an experience at the highest level back to the club, and lads have responded to that. I’ve been talking to him quite a lot, and he really is enjoying it. Which is probably the most important thing at the moment for him, and he’s enjoying being involved with the group.”
Murphy was in much the same boat as Carr when he made his return to the All-Ireland League in September 2015, as he had just completed a five-year stint with Munster. However, he made a massive contribution (both on and off the field) for Naas, as they claimed the Division 2A crown with an astonishing run of nine consecutive wins in the second-half of last season.
In addition to winning the PRO12 title with Munster in 2011, Murphy also claimed three English Premiership titles during his time Leicester, but he admits that securing silverware with Naas was a particularly special feeling.
“It was quite special for me to be back, to do it with lads that I would have played with at Newbridge College my whole way through school. That was quite a special moment. We set ourselves a target around the turn of the year, and I think it was important that if we could do it, to go straight up, and not to go into probably the lottery of the play-offs.”
“We got a couple of favours along the way, but we still had to produce the last three games on the trot when the pressure was certainly on. Everyone stood up and we managed to get the job done.”
The club’s promotion has also afforded Murphy the opportunity to return to two of his old stomping grounds, as away encounters against Shannon and Dolphin brought him back to Munster’s principle homes of Thomond Park and Irish Independent Park [formerly Musgrave Park].
The 32-year-old acknowledged it was quite odd to be returning in his new capacity, but he still enjoyed reconnecting with some of his former colleagues.
“I suppose it was a bit weird going back, but certainly in Limerick it was a great day. It was really nice to get that win down there [against Shannon], and it was a very important one for us at that time. I suppose, the Dolphin one, it was great going back.”
“I got to catch up with [former Munster player] Denis Hurley and Anthony Coole, who was the physio while I was in Munster. The 80 minutes on the pitch weren’t fantastic [Naas lost 15-10], but I’ve enjoyed the trips. It’s been good to catch up with some guys that I would have played with and played against.”
While there have been some incredible moments for Irish rugby in 2016, the passing of Munster head coach Anthony Foley on October 16 was met with great sadness throughout the wider sporting world.
Murphy played under Foley in his maiden season at the helm of the Red Army, and for him it feels surreal to speak about the legendary Irish international in the past tense.
“I think it’s very weird, it’s certainly something that no one would have expected, and it’s certainly tragic circumstances. I was down at the funeral for the couple of days, and it was dreadful. Thinking about it, my wife recently, we’ve had our first child, so to see the two guys walk up behind their Dad was not very nice.
“It’s absolutely dreadful, but it’s still very surreal when someone asks you a question about him, or when you’re speaking about him. Any of the lads that you would have played with. It’s just an absolutely dreadful situation that happened.”
A number of tributes were paid to Foley in the wake of his death, including one by the Māori All Blacks ahead of their game with Munster in Thomond Park on November 11. For Murphy, this showed the affection that the rugby and sporting community had for Foley, and is something that the game can be extremely proud of.
“I think that’s something that the game can be very proud of. Every team had their own way of doing it, and it was incredible to see the tributes that were made to Axel. I think it was fitting. I suppose the reality of the situation, it doesn’t make up for anything, but it shows what he meant to the whole sport and the rugby community.”
With promotion now within the realms of possibility halfway through the season, Murphy’s charges will be primed for a major surge when the Ulster Bank League returns from a winter break in January.
However, it is clear that the Ellistown man is focusing on the bigger picture, and he sees youth development as a crucial part of the overall vision of Naas.
“It’s about the whole club progressing, and developing to a stable, self-efficient club at this level. There’s a process in place, and we have to move towards that goal of playing to the highest of our ability, and that’s at all levels, all age groups. We’re building with our U20s.”
“We finished our last game of the year with four U20s on the pitch, which is a massive statement for the club. I think we need to continue that. Really makes strides forward in every area and every age group we compete at. That’s the overall goal, and the overall vision, and I suppose I’m at the coal face trying to make sure that vision becomes a reality,” Murphy concluded.
Naas’ regular season campaign ends with a return fixture against Galwegians on April 15 2017, but only time will tell if this will be final competitive outing of the term for Murphy and his troops.