James Lowe Andy Farrell Conor Murray Bundee Aki France Ireland New Zealand Samoa Irish Rugby Rugby World Cup Sport Rugby James Lowe Andy Farrell Conor Murray Bundee Aki France Ireland New Zealand Samoa

Kiwi trio key to Irish hopes, says Conor Murray

rte.ie

Conor Murray believes New Zealand's loss is Ireland’s gain as "world-class" trio Bundee Aki, Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe bid to give their native country serious cause for regret.Centre Aki, scrum-half Gibson-Park and wing Lowe will face the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup for the first time after being selected to start Saturday's quarter-final showdown in Paris (8pm).The three New Zealand-born backs qualified for Ireland on residency grounds and have become key performers for Andy Farrell’s side, including helping secure a landmark tour success over the Kiwis last summer.Murray expects their personal circumstances to provide an extra edge to their performances at Stade de France."Those three boys are so important to our squad," he said."What they did, taking the chance to come over here and start a new life for themselves and prove themselves, all three of them have really done so."They’re three world-class players who we’re really going to rely on heavily and have performed unbelievably well in this competition."It hasn’t really been mentioned, the New Zealand thing.

They’re part of our Irish team now and they’re really important to us."I’m sure there’s a part of them, that little bit extra that they want to get one over on their place of birth but they’re fully part of our Irish squad now."Gibson-Park and Lowe each represented the Maori All Blacks prior to their respective moves to Leinster, before winning maiden Ireland caps in 2020.Connacht player Aki made his Ireland debut in 2017 but missed Ireland’s last-eight World Cup loss to New Zealand in 2019 through suspension.The 33-year-old, who four years ago was sent off against Samoa – his parents’ native country, has been one of the standout performers in

Related News
Warren Gatland has backed Andy Farrell to be the next British and Irish Lions head coach after ruling himself out of the running for the 2025 tour of Australia.
Warren Gatland has decided not to continue as head coach of the British and Irish Lions, and recommended Ireland coach Andy Farrell as the best man for the job.
Jacques Nienaber will be given all the time he needs to celebrate South Africa's monumental achievement before he takes up duties at Leinster, says Leo Cullen.
Former Ireland international Jean Kleyn acknowledges being on the verge of becoming a world champion with his native South Africa was "outside the realm of thinking" just months ago.
Andy Farrell believes the inspirational spirit of outgoing captain Johnny Sexton can help Ireland return to challenge on the biggest stage after another agonising World Cup exit marked the end of an era.

Latest News

Change privacy settings
This page might use cookies if your analytics vendor requires them.