Ben Murphy believes Stuart Lancaster can take Connacht to the next level when he takes over as head coach next season.
The former England and Racing 92 head coach was confirmed as Connacht's new boss on a two-year deal earlier this month, replacing Pete Wilkins who stepped down in May following a period of sick leave.
Murphy briefly crossed paths with his new coach at Leinster when he was in the academy and Lancaster was part of the senior coaching staff.
And the scrum-half says news of his appointment has generated a lot of "excitement" in the province’s squad, as they look to get back on track following a 13th place finish in the URC last season.
"I didn’t feel we were too far away from being very good. And I think Stu has the ability to take us to that next step," Murphy said.
"He’s been left a good foundation by the staff that were there last year but were ready to take that next step obviously next year.
"Any dealings I had with him, I’ve always had massive respect for him and I think you can see the development in the likes of a lot of the [British and Irish] Lions who’ve gone in, who’ve worked with him in Leinster.
"How he’s brought them up from 19, 20-year olds to now hopefully Lions internationals in a few weeks.
"He is very good, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch in building leadership skills and driving a team so I’m looking forward to hopefully picking his brain a bit on that."
Murphy left Leinster last summer to join Connacht, and while the 24-year-old's signing had gone under the radar at the time, he was a revelation at the province in his debut season, scoring nine tries in 16 games.
That form saw him called into the Ireland squad a training panellist for the 2025 Guinness Six Nations, and he’s now likely to make his Ireland debut in the coming weeks as part of the tour of Georgia and Portugal.
Although very few would have had him on the Ireland radar 12 months ago, the Bray native insists he had been quietly targeting this summer, having expected so many Irish players to be away with Andy Farrell’s Lions squad.
"From the outside looking in it probably would have been far-fetched but I kind of felt that with the movements this year, Lions year and all that, that there was going to be an opportunity for a young scrum-half to come into the squad and I just wanted to put my best foot forward to be the one to be in that position.
"Thankfully I got an opportunity earlier with Connacht. I’ve managed to push forward and get into the squad so delighted."
Murphy (below) is one of 12 uncapped players in the squad of 32, coached by Paul O’Connell, and while he’s still very much a new face in this group, he’s grateful for getting the chance to dip his toe into the Ireland squad back in January.
"Yeah it definitely feels a little bit more comfortable because you’ve had them experiences.
"Whether I was a training panellist or whether I’m in the normal squad you go out to train in the same way, try and earn your opportunity to play, that hasn’t really changed. I suppose in that aspect its been similar but I think those experiences have helped me.
"There’s not a whole lot of experience in the group but the lads who’ve been in for the last couple of years, obviously Craig [Casey] as captain has been great, he’s been great to myself and Doaky [Nathan Doak] as well.
"I’ve worked with both 10s before, they’re very good at setting up the team and getting their messages across. And then there’s obviously lads like [Ryan] Baird, Stuart McCloskey, who’ve been around for a little bit longer again.
"I think there’s a really good mix of that experience and then I feel that with so many new caps or potential new caps that brings a bit of enthusiasm as well which I think all together is a good mix."
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