Date of birth | 23 April 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Bray, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 80 kg (180 lb; 12 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Presentation College, Bray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ben Murphy (born 23 April 2001) is an Irish rugby union player, currently playing for United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Challenge Cup side Connacht Rugby. His preferred position is scrum-half. [1]
The son of Ireland U20 coach Richie Murphy, [2] Murphy was named in the Leinster Rugby academy for the 2021–22 season. [3] He made his debut in Round 18 of the 2021–22 United Rugby Championship against Munster. [4] While a member of the Leinster sub-academy, Murphy joined Munster on a short-term loan to cover for injuries. [5] In May 2024, it was announced that he would be moving to Connacht ahead of the 2024-25 season. [6]
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won once. Ulster were the first Irish team and the first team outside England and France to win the European Cup in 1999.
Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht Branch, which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union throughout the geographical Irish province of Connacht.
Munster Rugby is one of the professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU's Munster Branch, which is responsible for rugby union throughout the Irish province of Munster. The team motto is "To the brave and faithful, nothing is impossible." This is derived from the motto of the MacCarthy clan – "Forti et Fideli nihil difficile". Their main home ground is Thomond Park, Limerick, though some games are played at Musgrave Park, Cork.
Frank Murphy is a former professional rugby union player from Ireland who works as a referee for the Irish Rugby Football Union. He primarily played as a scrum-half. Originally from Cork, Murphy played for his native province of Munster before moving to the English side Leicester Tigers.
Albert Samuel "Alby" Mathewson is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half.
John Cooney is an Irish rugby union player who plays scrum-half for Irish provincial side Ulster in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup, having previously played for Leinster and Connacht, and has eleven caps for Ireland. Since joining Ulster in 2017, he has been nominated for EPCR European Player of the Year once, been named in the Pro14 Dream Team four times, and been Ulster's player of the year twice.
Cáolin Blade is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Connacht and the Ireland national team.
Nick McCarthy is an Irish rugby union player, currently playing for Major League Rugby side Chicago Hounds and formerly for Leinster and Munster. He plays as a scrum-half.
Patrick Patterson is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Munster.
Jack Crowley is an Irish professional rugby union player who currently plays as a fly-half for United Rugby Championship club Munster and the Ireland national team.
The 2021–22 Munster Rugby season was Munster's twenty-first season competing in the United Rugby Championship, alongside which they also competed in the European Rugby Champions Cup. It was Johann van Graan's fifth and final season as head coach.
The 2021–22 season was Ulster Rugby's 28th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's fourth season as head coach. They competed in the inaugural United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The 2020–21 season was Ulster's 27th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's third season as head coach. Iain Henderson was captain. They competed in the Pro14, the Pro14 Rainbow Cup, the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
The 2022–23 season was Ulster Rugby's 29th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union. They competed in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. It was Dan McFarland's fifth season as head coach.
The 2023–24 season was Ulster Rugby's 30th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union. They competed in the United Rugby Championship the European Rugby Champions Cup, and the EPCR Challenge Cup. It was Dan McFarland's sixth season as head coach. Despite some good results, including a home win against Racing 92 in the Champions Cup and an away win against Leinster in the URC, Ulster slipped back in the league, and poor performances against Bath, Harlequins and Toulouse dumped them out of the Champions Cup. After an away defeat in the URC against Ospreys in February, McFarland left his position, replaced by former Ireland under-20 head coach Richie Murphy. CEO Jonny Petrie also left, replaced on an interim basis by Hugh McCaughey. Murphy oversaw two away losses in South Africa and a quarter-final exit in the Challenge Cup, but form improved in the league, with four straight wins, including a home win against Leinster, and a losing bonus point away to Munster secured a quarter-final place, losing away to a full-strength Leinster side, and qualification for next season's Champions Cup.
Richie Murphy is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. After three successful seasons as head coach of the Ireland national under-20 rugby union team, he became head coach of Ulster in 2024.
The 2024–25 season will be Ulster Rugby's 31st season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Richie Murphy's first full season as head coach..