Enniscorthy native Josh Murphy has secured an exciting move to Connacht Rugby for the start of next season…
The versatile player, who plays in the back row or more recently performing brilliantly in the second row for Leinster has penned a two-year contract with the Westerners.
This will prove a great coup for Connacht with Murphy impressing every time he has lined out for Leinster putting in some Barnstorming performances down the years.
He will be a huge attribute to the Galway based especially given the recent news that Ultan Dillane, a crowd favourite in the Sportsground, has decided to leave for pastures new in France.
Josh grew up in Enniscorthy town and quickly found his feet in Enniscorthy Rugby club lining out for the Mini’s, right up to U-12’s.
Following many fun years playing against raucous rivals Gorey, New Ross and Wexford in the South-East league Murphy’s studies brought him to secondary school at St.Michaels College, the famed rugby school on Ailesbury road.
The school is right up there in terms of recent Leinster School’s Cup rugby titles and has produced a startling number of current Leinster players and Irish internationals. The environment and success story of the school thus also nurtured Josh into becoming the fabulous rugby player he is today.
A stint in College in UCD hooked him up with the University’s rugby team, and with impressive displays, he soon got capped with the Ireland U-20’s.
This led to the Enniscorthy man being noticed by Leinster and debuted in the 2017/18 season after impressing with the Leinster Academy.
He became well known in the 2018/19 season with numerous league appearances, later grabbing some fantastic experiences in the European Champions Cup. Murphy has huge potential with Connacht and no doubt, we will be seeing the usual physical displays from the Wexford man out West.
At 6 foot 6 and 17 stone, Murphy is a sight to behold at full throttle, sprinting up the middle on galloping runs or driving through close contact for the hard yards every Connacht fan will adore.
Josh, who is a great lineout operator and scrummager, also possess a mean tackle and herculean strength. He will add a serious workhorse attitude to the Western engine room of their beefy pack and he would seem to be a match made in Heaven for the westerners, exactly the type of grizzled, gritty and game player they want.
One could argue that the move may potentially open up Josh to perhaps international squad call ups with more regular game time and thus chances to shine in the Connacht set-up.
We wish him well on his venture to Connacht.
By Byron Jones
Featured Image: Leinster Rugby
Read also:
Remember to submit your news to Wexford Weekly! To advertise on our socials or website, email our team at info@wexfordweekly.com
