Interview/ Geordan Murphy: Johnny Wattersontalks to Hugo MacNeill, Paul Dean and Pat Howard about the enigma that is Geordan Murphy.
Off the pitch, he gives a convincing "Big Easy" impression. A lot has been aired about Geordan Murphy's what's-the-fuss-about? manner, the occasional flaw, his enlightening game. In Murphy, there is no bish-bash-bosh and in some eyes that is as big a question as an answer.
It has become the case that if the Leicester fullback and wing is not in the Irish side, people are clamouring to say what a conservative sap Eddie O'Sullivan is for leaving him out. If he is picked for Ireland, people will see the player's occasional lapses and wonder if O'Sullivan is not looking at the exuberant ability and blind to the flaws.
Either way there are alternate views on Geordan Murphy and over the last two weeks he has been at the centre of attention in a number of incidents, excised from the games, placed in a Petri dish and forensically examined. The first was against Wales at the Millennium Stadium for Ireland's opening Six Nations Championship match and the others against France in Croke Park last weekend. All will have left him with different feelings about his contributions and both would have polarised a fickle public even more.
In Ireland's first, ragged performance against Wales, Murphy came off the bench to replace Denis Hickie, who had just received a head wound and required medical attention. In those nine heartbeats of action between the 25th and 34th minutes Murphy made a contribution that many players would have been proud of over the course of a full match.
Welsh captain Stephen Jones had already kicked his side to a 9-5 lead when Murphy entered the game. The Leicester player chased a Dwayne Peel box kick into Irish territory, turned and launched a fiercely high, angled kick of his own into the Welsh 22. He sprinted forward to contest the high ball, won it and triggered an Irish move from the possession. Seconds later Murphy stepped in as outhalf at a ruck to throw a skip pass to Gordon D'Arcy, the ball finally ending up in the hands of captain Brian O'Driscoll running in for Ireland's first try.
Last week against France, Murphy was involved in several pivotal incidents. In the first half, French winger Vincent Clerc counter-attacked off a quick delivery from Pierre Mignoni as France ran from touchline to touchline, the ball finally ending up in the hands of French captain and hooker Raphael Ibanez. Ibanez ran at Murphy as the Irishman drifted out towards the left, then broke inside and ran through a soft shoulder for the first French try.
Later in the match, it was Murphy, who was clearly thinking more sharply than Kiwi referee Steve Walsh when he picked up a Pieter de Villier's pass from the ground after it had been knocked on by Pascal Pape.
Murphy then broke into open field, running almost the length of the pitch only to be brought back as Walsh had blown for a scrum. Earlier Murphy had also enveloped centre Yannick Jauzion and batted away the ball on a French overlap, preventing what looked like a certain French try.
Of all the Murphy contributions to both games, the missed tackle on Ibanez attracted the most attention and the greatest amount of vitriol. Afterwards the player, who the former Leicester coach Dean Richards once called "The George Best of rugby", spoke only about the tackle.
"It was disappointing to concede the first try, especially as (Raphael) Ibanez went straight through me," said Murphy in his BBC column. "It was a vital score as it really gave them a boost in what was always going to be a close game."
Last year following Ireland's first-half capitulation to France after a bizarre sequence of soft tries, the team almost staged a spectacular second-period comeback. Murphy was again prepared to put up his hand for the initial 40-minute chaos.
"After the France game it was probably the worst I have felt after an international; my chest hurt and I sprained a rib, but really I was hurting from the feeling of having let my team-mates down. I think I was certainly to blame for the first try.
"Some people seem to think I have become a bad player after two games, but there is nothing I can do about the French game now, so it's a case of onwards and upwards, both in terms of my own performance and for the team."
Whether Murphy should be damned and defensively mistrusted for occasional lapses or celebrated as an outstanding talent, who is a genuine creative spark within the side, continues to define how some people see his career. The reality is that a number of players who were once under the microscope themselves continue to have enormous respect for what Murphy can bring to an international game.
"He can do things few other players can do," says former Irish fullback Hugo McNeill. "The down side of playing in those positions (wing and fullback) is that mistakes are magnified and tend to have big effects. That's the problem. It is a position that punishes very hard.
"But in fairness to Geordan Murphy, his vision in blocking out the French pass before half-time (from Jauzion) was crucially important to Ireland. He reacted really quickly to that and certainly in the match the week before against Wales, at a time when we needed solidity and we didn't have it, he gave it to us and made that try (O'Driscoll's).
"The complete picture for Geordan Murphy is a pretty good one. I think he's had a good season. It is unfortunate that when you play in the back three, little incidents can be crucial. It goes with the territory but it also has to be put in context."
Pat Howard, the former Australian inside centre and coach of Leicester, sees the Irishman perform more than anyone. Leicester, though, have always had a fractious enough relationship with Irish selectors and around the time of Richards hyperbolic "George Best" comments, Murphy appeared to be winning Premiership man-of-the-match awards every second week, while the national selectors turned away. In truth it took Ireland some time to hear the cheers emanating from Welford Road.
"He offers us a second fullback and often we use him at 15 as a strike runner," says Howard. "He has the aerial skills and an eye for space, his fullback link role is good and he's a good footballing brain. He also brings some balance to the back three.
"Because the two provinces dominate the style of play with Ireland, most players coming in have to adjust. At fullback it is not as hard and in Ireland he'd be better at fullback in that system. Wingers appear to be under more pressure in the Leinster and Ireland system. As wingers they may have the sense that people are coming at them more.
"Last week I didn't see because we were playing. But I'm absolutely sure there is always more than one person who makes a mistake. If Geordan Murphy was beaten in the inside, perhaps there should have been someone covering the inside."
In the third Test of the last Lions tour, his critics would argue another blot appeared on the copy book. A tapped free-kick at a scrum allowed All Black Conrad Smith speed through the Irishman's tackle to score on their way to a five try to one win. But again, Murphy's tackling error was one of many committed by an uncompetitive touring side, but also one media reports chose to highlight.
"His perception, his attacking ability and the fact he's not afraid to come into the line . . . I feel sorry for him in that tackle and I did watch it on television," says former Irish outhalf, Paul Dean. "What happened was that he was not comfortable with the man on the inside and couldn't get a shoulder on the attacker. Had he known who was inside and what they were doing then maybe he wouldn't have been indecisive.
"It's not a fault in his play. People say he can't tackle? That's rubbish. He's not playing (fullback) for Ireland because Girvan Dempsey is the man in form. With more game time Geordan Murphy is capable of playing much better. He is a remarkable talent."
More pertinently Dean, who was capped 32 times, points to a system that should be able to deal with issues if the Irish set-up believe they exist. He argues if it is true Murphy has any significant flaws to iron out then Ireland coaches should be scrambled.
"If he is a full-time member of that team and if a coach thought he needed more expertise in a certain area, then it is their responsibility to develop that player and concentrate his mind in developing aspects of his game if they think they need developing.
"Geordan Murphy is such a talent that he can do what he puts his mind to. I don't see many flaws in his game and while I believe Girvan Dempsey deserves his place, if he (Murphy) got more game time on the side, he would improve."
Maybe Irish perceptions are imperfect. Maybe the system rewards a highly-developed fear of error rather than the born-with impulse that can raise 80,000 supporters from their seats. Maybe Ireland doesn't tolerate the enigmatic in the way the French might.
Maybe Murphy's ability covers so many bases that his real value is from the Irish bench.
"When you are a utility back, you do different things," says MacNeill. "Wing is different from fullback. He played well against Australia in the autumn, one of his most consistent games, I thought. He played well for Leicester against Munster. He played well on Sunday."
Maybe that's it then. A missed tackle, a good performance. Geordan Murphy seriously flawed?
Bish. Bash. Tosh.