Ex-Ireland star hails ‘most impactful’ South African and shouts out prop who could have ‘easily had 60 caps’ but for ‘falling out’
Jordi Murphy has been talking about Springbok Marcell Coetzee and ex-Ireland prop Marty Moore
Former Ireland star Jordi Murphy has chosen a pack consisting of the best forwards he has ever played with.
Now two and a half years retired from playing, the 34-year-old ex-Leinster and Ulster back-rower recently reflected on a 30-cap Test career that featured a start in his country’s seminal 2016 breakthrough win over the All Blacks in Chicago.
Having debuted for Leinster in September 2011, he signed off from Leo Cullen’s team as a 2017/18 league and Champions Cup double winner and then had five years at Ulster before calling it quits.
Appearing on What The Ruck, the new talkSport Ireland show featuring former Munster and Ireland prop Dave Kilcoyne, Murphy wrapped up his 48-minute appearance by selecting a pack of forwards made up of players he played with.
“Quality player, quality bloke…”
Understandably, Leinster players dominated his choices, taking up five of the eight spots available, but amongst his three Ulster picks was a Springbok who left Ireland in 2021 after finding a home away from home in Belfast.
“Six, Marcell Coetzee. I played with him at Ulster. He was genuinely the most impactful player I have ever played with. It was night and day when you took him out of our team up there, how much better we were with him,” he said before going on to state his bemusement that he hasn’t earned more Springboks caps than the 31 he has.
“It just shows you the strength in depth. Crazy. He played a couple of times when he went back (under Rassie Erasmus), but not as many as I would have hoped or expected from the outside looking in. But then, nobody ever puts a foot wrong there, so how do you drop anyone? So, Marcel at six, quality player, quality bloke.”
Switching to tighthead, Tadhg Furlong was Murphy’s pick but he felt his selection debate shouldn’t overlook the now-retired Marty Moore, who won 10 Ireland caps before swapping Leinster for Wasps and getting frozen out from the international scene.
“Tighthead, I’m going to go with Tadhg Furlong in there, a three-time Lion. I have known him for years, would have played U20s with him. Mike Ross, I played with a load of times as well. And Marty Moore is probably one of the most underrated players you will ever meet.
“He was an absolute cornerstone for us. He was with Ireland for two years and played every Test and then fell out with the powers that be and ended up over in England, but Marty could have easily got 50, 60 caps with Ireland.
“It was probably a shame he didn’t pick up any when he was playing at Ulster (after joining from Wasps in 2018). He was playing some really, really good stuff.”
Moving to the remaining half-dozen positions in his best-ever pack, here was what Murphy had to say about his selection of Jack McGrath at loosehead, Rory Best at hooker, Iain Henderson and Devin Toner at lock, and Sean O’Brien with Jamie Heaslip in the back-row.
“I’d Cian Healy and Jack McGrath at Leinster, which is crazy when you think about it. Cian would have been there from ’07 up through and then when I first started breaking through into the team, he was there.
“But he picked up that neck injury, so then Jack McGrath, who was there or thereabouts, took his opportunity and started I don’t know how many games for Ireland and the Lions. I guess from my most successful years at Leinster, Jack was probably starting, so I will go with Jack on that one. But it’s incredibly tough.
“Hooker, I couldn’t look past Sean Cronin. I don’t think he’d let me live it down. But we’ll go Rory Best, No.2. That’s a tough one as well, as you must look at someone like Rob Herring.
“Rory Best played for the first two years I was at Ulster and then retired and then Rob, the impact he has had on the squad and Irish rugby. But look, I’m just going to go with Rory.
“Second-row, it’s hard to look past someone like Iain Henderson and Dev Toner, they are the first two that come to mind. Dev, the terminator for all the wrong reasons. He usually injured people on his own team than on the other team.
“Sean O’Brien at seven speaks for itself. The impact that he had. And then Jamie Heaslip at eight. That’s a pretty good pack.”