Conor Murray Warns of France's Edge Ahead in Six Nations Opener Against Ireland.
Five-time Six Nations winner Conor Murray has voiced concerns about Ireland's chances heading into next week's mouthwatering tournament opener against France in Paris, saying the French side will have the edge. Murray admits that he is worried about some of Ireland's issues, including front-row problems and loose-head situation.
Ireland will travel to Stade de France without several key players through injury, as well as the suspended Bundee Aki. France, on the other hand, is also without a host of established internationals, but Murray believes that Fabien Galthie's side will be too tough for Ireland in their first game.
"I think France will be a little bit too tough for the first game," Murray said on the Ireland Rugby Social podcast. "I hate saying that because I'm recently out of the dressing room, but I do think it'll be a little bit too far to go."
Murray is concerned about front-row issues and loose-head situation, and believes that these problems could impact Ireland's performance against France.
"Talking about the Marseille game in '24, we were questioned about form and not clicking," Murray said. "The last game we had played was the quarter-final against New Zealand and we had the most detailed review of a game I had in my career."
Murray is confident that coach Andy Farrell will use his motivational skills to ensure Ireland improve on the standards that saw them fall to New Zealand and South Africa in November.
"The Farrell factor is the bit that balances it up," said Andrew Trimble, who won 70 Ireland caps between 2005 and 2017. "On paper, it feels like the scrum is more important than ever."
However, Murray acknowledges that finding cohesion quickly will be crucial for Ireland, given the differences in how the province and national team have been playing lately.
"The fact they're so separate, it will take them a bit of time to get them back into that groove of slightly different running lines, staying slightly tucked and when to come on to the ball," Best said. "How quickly they can use their time in Portugal, with it being France in Paris, just makes it so difficult."
Five-time Six Nations winner Conor Murray has voiced concerns about Ireland's chances heading into next week's mouthwatering tournament opener against France in Paris, saying the French side will have the edge. Murray admits that he is worried about some of Ireland's issues, including front-row problems and loose-head situation.
Ireland will travel to Stade de France without several key players through injury, as well as the suspended Bundee Aki. France, on the other hand, is also without a host of established internationals, but Murray believes that Fabien Galthie's side will be too tough for Ireland in their first game.
"I think France will be a little bit too tough for the first game," Murray said on the Ireland Rugby Social podcast. "I hate saying that because I'm recently out of the dressing room, but I do think it'll be a little bit too far to go."
Murray is concerned about front-row issues and loose-head situation, and believes that these problems could impact Ireland's performance against France.
"Talking about the Marseille game in '24, we were questioned about form and not clicking," Murray said. "The last game we had played was the quarter-final against New Zealand and we had the most detailed review of a game I had in my career."
Murray is confident that coach Andy Farrell will use his motivational skills to ensure Ireland improve on the standards that saw them fall to New Zealand and South Africa in November.
"The Farrell factor is the bit that balances it up," said Andrew Trimble, who won 70 Ireland caps between 2005 and 2017. "On paper, it feels like the scrum is more important than ever."
However, Murray acknowledges that finding cohesion quickly will be crucial for Ireland, given the differences in how the province and national team have been playing lately.
"The fact they're so separate, it will take them a bit of time to get them back into that groove of slightly different running lines, staying slightly tucked and when to come on to the ball," Best said. "How quickly they can use their time in Portugal, with it being France in Paris, just makes it so difficult."
I mean, France is always a tough opponent for Ireland and Murray's warning doesn't surprise me at all. 
Those front-row problems are giving me major concerns too! 
Loose-head situation is like, a total game-changer, you know? 
Fabien Galthie's side might be missing some key players, but I think they'll still come out on top because of their experience and coaching. Andy Farrell's motivational skills will definitely help Ireland pick up the slack, though! 
Fingers crossed for Ireland, but I'm gonna put my money on France this time around 
i'm worried about our front row atm, we've been struggling and loose-head is a big concern too 
still gotta be realistic tho, france are a top team and they're not gonna give us an easy win 
need to sort out our issues and bring our A game 
. They're missing some key players and all that, but I heard Fabien Galthie's side is like, super well-prepared and stuff 
. And can you believe we don't even have our loose-head sorted out? 
Like, how are we supposed to compete with the best teams when we can't even get our props right?! 
I'm worried about our front row problems, we need those big lads up front to take on the French pack. Loose-head situation is a concern too, if we can't get that sorted out, it's gonna be tough for Ireland to compete. I mean, we've had some issues in our scrum lately and it's costing us games. Andy Farrell will try to whip us into shape, but France is a different story altogether 
been watching their training vids and i gotta say, fabien galthie's squad looks super sharp. irish might be hurtin' from those losses against NZ & SA last month, dont know if they can bounce back fast enough for the paris opener 
Murray's right about the front-row issues tho, we need to sort that out ASAP 
Ireland's got some big issues heading into that game against France! Conor Murray's right on the money about those front-row problems and loose-head situation. I mean, can't even get the scrum going right 
. The French might be down some players too, but Murray thinks they've got it in the bag 
... but hopefully, they'll figure out a way to gel before the next game 
. And yeah, losing key players to injury doesn't help 
. But, you know, Andy Farrell's always got some magic up his sleeve 
so I'm still optimistic about our chances 
. Can't afford to go into the game like we did last season 
...
It's all a bit suspicious if you ask me 