BTS footage shows Ireland veteran’s legendary tunnel antics before France match
Saturday’s match between Ireland and France at the Aviva Stadium was as big as Six Nations matches come. Not only was this tipped as the Championship, and potentially Grand Slam, decider in round two, but it was important for both sides to make a statement ahead of the World Cup later this year, where they could meet each other in the quarter-finals.
But when you have played in 102 Tests for Ireland and a further eight more Tests for the British & Irish Lions, not much can phase you. Or that is certainly the case when looking at Conor Murray when the two sides lined up in the tunnel.
As the camera panned across the Ireland team waiting in the tunnel before entering the pitch, there was a clear nervous energy amongst the players, which is expected before any Test match. That is everyone except the Munster scrum-half, who basically looked like he was standing waiting for a bus. It is simply not possible for any player to looked more chilled before playing one of the best teams in the world.
Take a look:
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Though Ireland came away with the win, it came at a price, with lock Tadhg Beirne being ruled out for the rest of the Championship with an ankle injury. However, defence coach Simon Easterby has insisted that his side’s level will not drop despite the absence of one of their stars.
“Tadhg has been phenomenal, hasn’t he, over the last couple of seasons,” Easterby said.
“But like we’ve already had to do over the course of this championship, we’ve had to adapt and that’s testament to the squad and the work the players have put in that even those guys who might not expect to be involved step in and the standard and performance doesn’t drop.
“It’s really unfortunate that we’ve lost Tadhg but we’re very fortunate with the stocks that we have available to us in his position.
“Other players have stepped in and the performance hasn’t dipped so I guess that’s part and parcel of the game.
“The mentality was a couple of years ago to make sure we have more than just 30, 31, 32, 33 players available, we certainly have drilled down into players underneath those and we feel we’re in a much better place to lose someone like Tadhg and not lose performance in players that come in.”
