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Ireland still in the hunt - Murray
By Alex Fisher
Conor Murray has his sights set firmly on the Six Nations title after helping Ireland to a 19-9 victory over France in Dublin on Saturday.
Scrum-half Murray scored the only try of the game as Joe Schmidt's side moved top of the table, his half-back partner Jonathan Sexton adding 11 points on his international return.
Ireland dominated in the key areas of the clash, performing well up front and making good ground with ball in hand.
While England could regain top spot with victory over Italy on Sunday, Murray knows Ireland are still very much in the fight for the title, especially given the two sides meet on the final weekend at the Aviva Stadium.
A man of the match performance from @ConorMurray_9 helped Ireland to a hard fought win in @AVIVAStadium - thanks for your support #TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/Zgqhr1kTc3
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 25, 2017
"We had a few chances on their line and didn't manage to convert, but with the way the weather was it was always going to be difficult but I think we stuck in the fight," he told ITV Sport.
"To beat France 19-9 at home is great. To have missed a few opportunities is a little bit frustrating, but we are still in the hunt for this championship.
"[Winning] was important at the start of the week, a win and nothing else would do and we managed to do that. Now we've a week off to rest up and look at Wales, so we are still in the fight."
Murray also had praise for the returning Sexton, his accuracy from the tee proving crucial as the Irish ended France's hopes of topping the table next month.
He added: "Jonny slotted in really well, that 70-odd minutes will put him in good stead for the next [few] weeks which is going to be really, really tough against the Welsh and English."
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Latest Comments
How about a SH type of Champions Cup? I'm not going to repeat the whole response here, but did write what I think would be good. Not only for NZ, but all of the SH. I would however love to hear your thoughts on such a competition
Go to commentsCan’t really complain about those scores. Individually, too many were off their best and went missing in big, match defining moments. Collectively, the team often looked muddled and lacked cool-headed, leadership especially in the final quarter of games. This was further compounded by a quality drop-off from the bench.
Calls for Borthwick’s dismissal have grown increasingly louder with each passing game as he has been shown to be tactically and selectively subpar. His position is now in the balance and I don’t believe he’ll be kept on unless England fix their defensive issues and beat at least one of Ireland, France or Scotland in the 6Ns, which on the latest showing looks increasingly unlikely.
Couple of returning players in Chessum and Mitchell coupled with a stronger bench, might give England fans a few reasons to remain optimistic.
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