What's seldom is wonderful. Out of sight, out of mind would be the crib of Geordan Murphy's admirers but tonight at Donnybrook the 21-year-old Irish full back cum winger finds himself in his home shop window.

Not that Murphy himself can afford to look at it like that. "Then I'd probably make mistakes I wouldn't usually do. It's just another game," he says, a tad unconvincingly. "It's a big game, but then again most of the games we play these days, whether against London Irish or Bath, they're all big games. You're under pressure every game you play. It's a job now, so you've just got to go out and get it done."

Aside from being invariably a focus of attention, it's also a chance for Murphy to play against his native province and some of his good mates, such as fellow Kildare man Bob Casey and Brian O'Driscoll. "He's playing? Oh, brilliant," Murphy says of O'Driscoll. "Absolutely fantastic. I thought he was injured."

Murphy will thus bring an additional element of curiosity value to tonight's game. Murphy is one of a declining number of Irish players abroad, and assuredly the youngest who is holding down a regular position in a top flight club. Leicester has been good for him, and Murphy's natural speed has evolved further with the club's once-a-week speed sessions, not to mention the experience he probably couldn't have got at home.

"I've come from a very humble background in Naas and it's just sort of introduced me to world rugby, and playing with numerous internationals every week. There are 16 or 17 internationals in the place so you're bound to learn from these guys, even in training, when they tell you what you're doing wrong, or more importantly what you're doing right. That gives you a lot of confidence to go out and do it on the big day."

Murphy's contract expires at the end of the season, and this strikingly mature, self-confident young player is clearly open to persuasion. Despite a ban on overseas players playing Super 12 rugby, he even harbours designs on playing in the competition, a consequence of Australian Pat Howard's influence, and feels that his style of play would suit the type of rugby they play in the Southern Hemisphere. Ultimately though, he wants to return to play in Ireland.

While diplomatically admitting that selectors can only pick players they see regularly, despite his run on last season's Irish under-21s, Murphy presumes that "they don't really know me from Adam. Maybe in future I might get looked at, but having said that I'm still quite young".

A versatile back, he's also played at out-half and centre. Despite having little or no experience of playing on the wing since his schooldays until recently, Murphy pragmatically says: "in this day and age, back three is sort of a position. I'd prefer to play full back but it's not that much different from full back."

For a spell last season, Murphy was even fending off Tim Stimpson for the full back slot on merit. A pacey and accomplished all-round footballer, he impressed many good judges and provides a constant selectorial dilemma for coach Dean Richards.

"Geordan is one of these exceptional footballers that he could almost play in any position in a backline," Richards says. "He has so much natural talent that it's a question of finding the spot for him. He's one of these guys that you find it very difficult to leave out."

Nonetheless, Richard concedes that full back is the player's likeliest destiny.

"Having seen how Ireland did in the World Cup and everything they've got to offer, I don't think they could lose out by offering him a spot in the Irish squad, and giving him an opportunity to prove his worth. He's that good a talent, and they'd have nothing to lose by doing it."

Over-age this season for the under-21s, Murphy ambitiously wants to progress further up the Irish representative ladder. "Your goal is always to go as far as you can go, and another step on the ladder would be an A cap this year, I'd love that, and after that take it as it comes. I don't want to set my goals too high in case I'm disappointed at the end of the season."