Andy Farrell has paid tribute to Conor Murray, as the scrum-half prepares to win his 100th cap for Ireland this Saturday against South Africa.
With regular first choice Jamison Gibson-Park returning from injury off the bench, Murray is named to start for the Test against the world champions at the Aviva Stadium, his first time in the number nine shirt since the win against Argentina almost 12 months ago.
He becomes the eighth man to hit the 100-cap mark for Ireland, 11 years on from his debut against France in Bordeaux, and his head coach has led the tributes to his achievement.
"I am in awe of these people. It's pretty special because we all know that to be able to get to that type of career, you need to have what it takes," Farrell said.
"Whether you are a coach or a player you see all the ups and downs and all the pressures that come in from all sorts of directions and you see everyone wants to move on to what they perceive to be the next best thing.
"Somebody who stands up to be counted time and time again, to get to a point like that, I’m in awe of it because the hardest thing is to stay at the top."
And Farrell says the 33-year-old's career on the pitch is matched by his persona off it.
"Of course there are ups and downs but the biggest compliment I could play Conor – he’s a legend of Irish rugby and his abilities are second to none – is that he is a top, top class bloke. I don’t know anyone who has a bad word to say about him.
"We are all obsessed with rugby but when it comes to how he has managed himself throughout his career- and there are big things still to come – he is classed as a fantastic human being by his peers."
The veteran scrum-half has found himself as back-up to Gibson-Park in the last 12 months, but gets his chance against the Springboks due to the Leinster man being short of game time.
Likewise, Hugo Keenan will be playing his first game since the summer tour of New Zealand, after carrying an injury through the opening rounds of the URC.
But Farrell (below) doesn't believe it's a risk to put the two straight into Test action.
"Calculated. Calculated is probably the right way [to phrase it]," he added.
"When you weigh everything up, the personnel that you've got, the injuries and then people coming back into camp. It almost goes back to zero for us, how they apply themselves, the confidence not just in themselves but how it transfers to their teammates. Each individual is completely different and that’s what makes the world goes around.
"When you talk about someone like Hugo [Keenan], we could talk all day about him really, but he is the fittest in the team. We will start there, but he is the most diligent as far as his work in the team as well and that is not just across his own work but everyone else’s as well.
"Some people can hit the ground running and be very good. Other people take three or four weeks and we believe Hugo is in a good space to start on Saturday."
There's also a return to the side for Robert Baloucoune, who makes earns his third cap on the right wing, almost 12 months on from his most recent appearance.
The Ulster man missed out on the tour of New Zealand due to injury, and Farrell believes he can offere Ireland "something different" this weekend.
"We would have loved for him to come to New Zealand. A trip like that would have been priceless for him and one of the reasons we put him on the Emerging Ireland tour was for the experience.
"When you have an opportunity like this to see how Rob handles the big occasion, to be able to do that in a good side is pretty important as well.
"We feel he is ready, that he can offer something different. You look at different ends of the scale, this is how Conor's career started. It’s up to Rob and his teammates helping him to grab the opportunity and show what he is about at the top level."
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