"The competition was hot... but getting into the Test team for the three matches was massive for me. More importantly, to be able to contribute in all three matches and not be overawed by the occasion, you take confidence from that."
That was
Conor Murray's take on his summer in New Zealand with the British & Irish Lions.
Murray left for that tour having been denied team honours with Munster but fresh from being voted Rugby Players of Ireland Player of the Year by his peers. On Halloween night, he added the Rugby Writers of Ireland accolade for best player to that personal haul.
Having confirmed himself as rugby's form scrum-half, a World Rugby nomination for Player of the Year would have been fitting but it never arrived. Murray will not mind but there are many that feel he and Lions colleague Jonathan Davies were extremely unlucky to miss out on a nomination.
The upcoming awards were discussed on
The Hard Yards [
from 13:00 below] with leading Welsh rugby writer Paul Williams effusive in his praise for the Ireland No.9.
Among the five nominees, there are two All Blacks, an Australian and two England internationals that helped the Lions to a shared Test Series in New Zealand.
- Israel Folau (Australia)
- Owen Farrell (England/Lions)
- Maro Itoje (England/Lions)
- Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
- Rieko Ioane (New Zealand)
All Blacks outhalf Barrett took the award in 2016. He starred in The Rugby Championship and sparkled against the Lions but missed kicks in the Second and Third Tests of that series proved costly. Ioane is the favourite in the eyes of many after an outstanding breakthrough year but he may have to settle for the best young player accolade, with Owen Farrell taking home the main prize next month.
For Williams, though, the omission of Murray was even more notable than that of Lions' Player of the Series Jonathan Davies. He commented:
"Davies played really well for the Lions but his form in the early part of the [2016/17] was a little patchy.
"I felt sorry for Conor Murray as he should have been on that list. He's had a fantastic year and has played well over that entire period."
Perhaps the biggest shame of the nominations is that they have been announced extremely early this year. Back in 2009, when Brian O'Driscoll was edged out by All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, he could at least point to a superb set of autumn internationals after a Grand Slam victory and positive outings for the Lions.
Murray had another composed, robust performance, last week, as Ireland walloped South Africa and he will be back in the No.9 jersey when Argentina come to town. How unfortunate, then, that those games - held in November 2017 - are not being considered when the best player of 2017 is decided. Whoever changed those rules, or criteria, needs to sort it.
For everyone's peace of mind, one hopes World Rugby holds off on the 2018 nominations until all the big Tests of the year have been played out.
