Barry Murphy Called Into Irish Squad

…Barry Murphy jinking his way through the Sale defence on his way to scoring a try in Munster’s 31-9 Heineken Cup win at Thomond Park on Saturday…

Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan has called Munster centre Barry Murphy into his training squad this week as cover for calf injury victim Girvan Dempsey.

Full-back Dempsey, who has been in sensational form for Leinster so far this season, damaged his calf in his province’s Heineken Cup win over Bath yesterday, and was not available for training today with the Irish squad. The injury will be assessed by the Ireland medical staff over the next week.

O’Sullivan 35-man squad for the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations Championship assembled in Dublin last night.

In addition to Dempsey’s injury, a total of seventeen players were unavailable for training today due to various minor injuries, forcing O’Sullivan to cancel this afternoon’s training session.

O’Sullivan said: “Although none of the injuries are a major fitness concern, given the fatigue levels after the weekend, there is no benefit to be had from training today.

“The players will need some time to recover from what was a tough but hugely successful weekend for Ireland in Europe. The extra day’s rest will allow the players to recover sufficiently to hit the ground running tomorrow.”

Commenting on the inclusion of the 23-year-old Murphy, O’Sullivan added: “Barry has shown significant improvement with every game he has played this year with Munster. His call-up to the national squad is due reward for his performances to date.”

Murphy has played in all six of Munster’s Heineken Cup games this season, starting three games against Sale (2) and Castres. A former Ireland Under-21 international, he made his Munster debut against the Dragons in the Celtic League in 2003.

The Irish squad are back training tomorrow morning as they prepare for their 6 Nations opener against Italy at Lansdowne Road on February 4.