Ulster out-half depth chart 'not ideal', says Richie Murphy

Michael Glennon Michael Glennon | 09-12 00:16

Richie Murphy admits that lack of experience at out-half is "not an ideal situation" as he prepares a young squad for his first full BKT URC season.

The province lost Billy Burns to Munster over the summer and with him over 200 caps worth of club experience, while he played seven times for Ireland.

Murphy has four out-and-out 10s, with Jake Flannery's 21 senior appearances, including six for Munster the most experienced, at his disposal.

Ireland-qualified New Zealander Aidan Morgan, who joined from the Hurricanes, and James Humphreys have yet to win competitive caps for the province, while former Ireland Under-20s out-half Jack Murphy switched from the Leinster to Ulster academy at the end of the season.

Scrum-halves John Cooney and Nathan Doak, and full-back Mike Lowry, have also filled in at 10 on occasion.

"But [we make up for lack of experience] from review, hearing what they have to say and dealing with them after training with regard to video analysis and how things work.

Jake Flannery has played 15 times for Ulster

"Obviously, we've two 23-year-old out-halves and a 20-year-old out-half, we do have Mike Lowry who has played there in the past, but we're going to be a young side over the next couple of years.

"Our frontliners, we've plenty of experience except for that position, so we're going to build something around those guys and that's pretty interesting."

On Morgan, who started against Benetton in a friendly at the weekend, Murphy said: "He's been good, he's come in and settled in very quickly.

"He's a big running threat, ball in hand, he's probably going to spend a bit of time getting used to the balance between that and the European game and what's expected of him.

"He's very exciting, he's fitted in with the group straight away.

"He's not a big man, but he's a very tough defender who defends his channel very well for a man of his size.

"It's going to be very exciting to see how he develops, he's only 23 years of age and he's got a little bit of Super Rugby experience.

"It's a new start for him."

Richie Murphy with son Jack during the last U20s Six Nations

Murphy, who took over the Ulster job last March after three seasons in charge of the Ireland U20s and a number of years as an assistant with both the Ireland senior side and Leinster, has seen plenty of out-halves develop over the years and was asked about how Morgan compared, and if he had the potential to earn a senior Irish cap.

"It's very early days at the moment," said the Wicklow man.

"Does he compare well with other guys? He's different strengths to the players we've had up through the Under-20s in the last couple of years.

"The big thing is that he's played a different game. Super Rugby is very different to the European game.

"It's going to take him a bit of time, there will be good days and bad days, but it's a case of seeing how he goes over the next number of weeks to get him started.

"There's elements of his game we're trying to get him to work on, but we're pretty happy with his attitude, his commitment, his work-rate - he's sitting outside the room here doing video clips from yesterday and today's his day off.

"He's working hard and he's a promising young player."

Ulster face Exeter at the weekend in a friendly before starting their campaign at home to champions Glasgow on 21 September.

Werner Kok won a Challenge Cup title with the Sharks last season

Murphy says he hopes new signing Werner Kok will see some game time at Sandy Park.

"[He’s] buzzing around the environment," said Murphy of the 31-year-old South African wing, who signed from the Sharks.

"We’ve got to know him very quickly. He’s got an infectious personality.

"Unfortunately, he picked up a strain about a week and a half ago and hasn’t been involved in training as much as we would like but we are hoping that he might get a run-out this weekend."

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.


ALSO READ

KSE-100 index closes at 81,459.29, up 997.95 points as investor optimism drives market

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a surge in investor optimism on Thursday, as the bench...

Gold prices in Pakistan reach new record of Rs268,500 per tola

Following a decline in the previous session, gold prices in Pakistan experienced a significant incre...

Number of clinical health staff increasing - Health NZ

Health officials have been marking the growth in the number of full-time clinical roles as evidence ...

Hazard mapping has 'chilling effect' on Nelson property market

Proposed hazard maps for Nelson are allegedly preventing properties across the city from being insur...

Woman called 'bad mum' after chasing down child stealer

A woman who stole an 18-month-old baby told the girl's mother she didn't deserve children when confr...

'Weak' case against diabetic driver thrown out by Australian court

A magistrate has criticised prosecutors as he threw out their "weak" case against a diabetic driver ...