Managerial statistics
- As of match played 18 May 2024
| Team | Nation | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||||
| Ireland U20 |  | 2021 | 2024 | 25 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 80 | |||
| Ulster | | 2024 | Present | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 50 | |||
| Total | 35 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 68.57 | ||||||
| Date of birth | 29 July 1974 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| School | Presentation College, Bray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | John Murphy (uncle) Ben Murphy (son) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Richie Murphy (born 29 July 1974) [1] 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.
He was educated at Presentation College, Bray, and captained the school to the Leinster Schools Junior Cup in 1990. [2] He played out-half for Greystones, Clontarf, Carlow and Old Belvedere in the All-Ireland League, represented Leinster, [3] including two appearances in the 1998–99 Heineken Cup. [4] and turned down opportunities to play professionally in England and Italy, preferring to stay in Ireland. [5] He was the All-Ireland League's record points scorer until 2017, when he was overtaken by Dolphin's Barry Keeshan. [6]
He worked for Leinster as a player development officer, and became the province's Senior Skills and Kicking Coach in 2010, [7] helping to develop players like Johnny Sexton, Ian Madigan and Fergus McFadden. Sexton would phone him for guidance while at the 2011 Rugby World Cup with Ireland. In 2013 he was backs coach for Emerging Ireland for the Tblisi Cup under head coach Allen Clarke. [8] He became skills and kicking coach for the senior Ireland team in 2013, being appointed to the role full-time in 2015. [9] He became head coach of the Ireland national under-20 rugby union team in 2021, taking over from Kieran Campbell. [10] Under his leadership Ireland won two Grand Slams in a row in the 2022 and 2023 Under 20s Six Nations, [11] were losing finalists in the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship, [12] and finished second and unbeaten in the 2024 Under-20s Six Nations. [13] After the departure of Dan McFarland, Ulster named Murphy as interim head coach from the end of the 2024 Under-20s Six Nations to the end of the 2023–24 season. [14] He signed a two-year contract with Ulster in May. [15]
He is the nephew of the former Ireland international Johnny Murphy, [5] and has two sons who are rugby players: Ben Murphy plays scrum-half for Connacht, [16] and Jack Murphy is an Ireland Under-20 international at out-half, [17] and a member of the Ulster academy. [18]
| Team | Nation | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||||
| Ireland U20 | | 2021 | 2024 | 25 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 80 | |||
| Ulster | | 2024 | Present | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 50 | |||
| Total | 35 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 68.57 | ||||||
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.
Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton is an Irish former professional rugby union player who played as a fly-half and captained the Ireland national team from 2019 until 2023. He also played club rugby for Leinster and Racing 92.
The Ireland national under-20 rugby team was formed in 2006, having previously been known as the under-21 team.
Ian Madigan is an Irish former professional rugby union player for Leinster, Bordeaux, Bristol Bears, Ulster and Ireland. His primary position was at fly-half, although he also played at centre and full-back.
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.
Finlay Harry Bealham is a professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Connacht. Born in Australia, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.
Garry Ringrose is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team.
Tadhg Gerard Beirne is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Munster and the Ireland national team.
Joseph Carbery is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for United Rugby Championship club Munster. Born in New Zealand, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.
James John Ryan is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team.
Josh Murphy is an Irish rugby union player for Pro14 and European Rugby Champions Cup side Leinster. He plays as a blindside flanker.
Rónan Kelleher is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team.
Craig Patrick Casey is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Munster and the Ireland national team.
Ryan Baird is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team.
Cormac Izuchukwu is an Irish rugby union player who plays lock for Ulster in the United Rugby Championship.
Connacht Rugby and Leinster Rugby are two Irish rugby union provincial teams that possess a rivalry that dates back to their IRFU Interprovincial Championship clashes during the amateur era. That rivalry has continued and even intensified since the emergence of the professional era in the late 1990s. Connacht and Leinster comprise two of the four Irish provincial teams competing in the Pro14. As such, the two sides regularly face each other during the regular season, and occasionally during the knock-out rounds.
Jack Crowley is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for United Rugby Championship club Munster and the Ireland national team.
Nathan Doak is an Irish rugby union player who plays scrum-half and out-half for Ulster in the 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 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.