Ireland head coach Andy Farrell must pick from a depleted squad after a spate of injuries which has robbed him of seasoned Test players like Andrew Porter, Hugo Keenan, Mack Hansen and Robbie Henshaw.
But Farrell’s Ireland defied the odds when they secured an impressive opening win over France in Marseille in the 2024 Six Nations with a performance that emphatically eased fears of a post-World Cup hangover.
“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. [There are] one or two other injuries, a handful of lads you’d want to be in better form, and then no stability or consistency at 10.
“There’s so many guys all playing OK at best. If there were so many young lads banging on the door, then you’d go ‘OK, a spark of youth and enthusiasm to ignite this team’ but there’s only a couple of those guys.
“All of that on paper says we can’t go to Paris and be excited, but Farrell always finds a way to get something out of these guys. He’s done it less recently but he has enough credit in the bank.”
Murray, who played in the 38-17 win in Marseille two years ago, echoed Trimble’s comments and insisted 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.
“Talking about the Marseille game in ’24, we were questioned about form and not clicking.
“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.
“We looked at that game and Andy pointed out in black and white so many situations where we could have been better, that last 20 minutes against New Zealand when we struggled and tried to find a try.
“Andy showed clips of us if we were a little bit braver or believed in ourselves and stuck to the plan that Andy will be trying to instil in them. That’s where my confidence comes in this group.