Conor Murray knows how bad cop Rassie Erasmus will fire up South Africa to get them out of jail
CONOR MURRAY knows how bad cop Rassie Erasmus will be firing up South Africa to get out of jail.
Lions scrum-half Murray played under Springboks’ director of rugby Erasmus and head coach Jacques Nienaber at Munster between 2016-17.
So he has inside knowledge on just how they work and what they will be doing to salvage the series on Saturday in the Second Test.
Murray, 32, said: “They’re good cop, bad cop.
“Rassie was tough and there was definitely a time and a place for that toughness at Munster and then Jacques was the good cop.
“They worked in tandem like that and that’s why they are such a good team.
“If Rassie would have a go at anyone in the Munster changing room, Jacques would probably have a quiet word with them and tell them what Rassie actually meant and that it’s coming from a good place.
“They think about the game of rugby quite deeply, so they’ll be putting their heads together and coming up with a plan.
“Rassie is going to try to pick his squad up and emotionally fire them up.
“He can surprise you at times too, so we’ve got to be ready for anything.
“Obviously South African rugby pride themselves on physicality and I think we did quite well in that area, to withstand a lot of pressure.
“At times they got a bit up on us but, overall, we did quite well in terms of the physicality side of things.
“So will they be hurting from that? Will he be trying to rev them up for that battle again? Probably.
“Rassie was a tough player, he expected toughness from his players.
“We’re fully aware of what will come out of the tunnel on Saturday and we’ve got to meet it.”
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As well as being prepared to scrap with the whole team, Ireland ace Murray knows he is going to have to go toe-to-toe with live-wire No 9 Faf de Klerk.
The 5ft 7in Sale Sharks star punches well above his weight.
And as Erasmus fires them up off the pitch, De Klerk pours petrol all over it before setting it alight.
Murray added: “You always want to win your individual battles. He’s been huge for them over the last few years.
“He was a stand-out player in the World Cup, he’s a threat, definitely, especially with his left foot.”
“He looks to use that quite a lot and got a bit of success out of it last week.
“At times we dealt with it quite well and we covered the backfield on him.
“He is central to anything they are trying to do, the way he runs the game, the energy he tries to create.
“He is not afraid to get stuck in. They are going to be a lot more fired up.”
After being dropped for the First Test, Murray will start Saturday’s clash the 95th Test of his career.
He said: “It’s been a rollercoaster. With the Covid and stuff, my journey on this tour has been interesting.
“I was speaking to someone last week about not being selected.
“It’s really interesting it’s bigger than you, it’s bigger than any individual player getting upset about it.
“Yes, you have 24 or 48 hours to be frustrated.
“After a little bit you get your head straight, get into the game and try and contribute to what we want, which is a series win.
“After the game on Saturday I was as happy as if I had started.
“Coming on and doing OK was satisfying but just to beat them in their backyard was the squad’s goal.”
RICHARD COCKERILL has held talks with England boss Eddie Jones about joining his backroom staff.
The former Red Rose hooker left his job as Edinburgh head coach last week.