A frank admission of fear or mind games?
Whichever it is, Conor Murray’s concession that Ireland players are afraid of facing England at Twickenham is unlikely to fill fans with confidence ahead of their meeting on Saturday in the Six Nations.
Murray has never tasted victory against the Auld Enemy on their stomping ground while Ireland also go into this one on the back of a disappointing 10-9 loss to France.
The Munster man’s trepidation is understandable; Ireland have failed to beat England at Twickenham since 2010 and only eight players in the current squad have finished there on the winning side.
Rory Best, Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Jamie Heaslip, Johnny Sexton, Andrew Trimble, Keith Earls and Eoin Reddan were involved when Ireland last won at Twickenham; a 20-16 Six Nations victory five years ago.
Ireland came close to ending the long wait in February 2014 but ended with a narrow 13-10 defeat and Murray believes they can draw confidence from that:
