Search icon

Sport

10th Dec 2013

Murray staying with Munster, Heaslip and O’Brien not flying off to France just yet

The IRFU have this morning announced details of a new two-year deal for Conor Murray, while reports of a move to France for Leinster duo Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip appear to be wide of the mark, for now at least.

Conor Heneghan

The IRFU have this morning announced details of a new two-year deal for Conor Murray, while reports of a move to France for Leinster duo Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip appear to be wide of the mark, for now at least.

Ever since Jonathan Sexton’s move to France in the summer, it appears as if a week doesn’t pass without another elite-level Irish player being linked with a Top 14 side, but there was encouraging news on that front from the perspective of the Irish provinces, Joe Schmidt and the IRFU this morning.

The IRFU confirmed this morning that Munster scrum-half Murray has signed a new deal that will see him remain at the province until at least 2016, while a report in the Irish Times suggests that speculation that had been building about moves to France for Leinster duo Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien may have been just speculation after all.

Rumours suggested that Top 14 giants Clermont Auvergne and Toulouse were going to announce the signatures of the Irish back row forwards today, but the Irish Times reports that such talk is premature for the time being and that while Heaslip is believed to be in talks with the IRFU, Toulon and Montpellier, the situation regarding negotiations between O’Brien and at least one French club remains unclear for now.

The same Irish Times report warns of the potential departure of seven (now six following Murray’s new deal) players currently contracted to the IRFU, namely Paul O’Connell, Donnacha Ryan, Keith Earls, Rory Best and the aforementioned Heaslip and O’Brien, if the Union are not prepared to make a reasonable offer compared to what is available elsewhere on the market.

The uncertainty surrounding the future of so many frontline players is a concern for Irish rugby going forward and while Murray staying put is a huge boost, doubts over so many other players is hardly ideal preparation for Joe Schmidt heading into his first Six Nations early in the New Year.

Don’t forget to get involved with the Heineken Star Predictor ‘Get in The Game’ where you can put your rugby knowledge to the test by predicting the outcome of this weekend’s games. The top prize is a pair of VIP tickets to the 2014 Heineken Cup Final in Cardiff and there are other prizes to be won throughout the season. Click here to start predicting.