Boks must find right balance in back row

Last week Conor Murray described his appointment as British & Irish Lions captain as “unbelievable”. The Ireland and Munster stalwart, and veteran of two previous

- DANIEL GALLAN

Lions tours, was handed the reins following the shoulder injury to Alun Wyn Jones. Naturally, given the circumstances, Murray was still coming to grips with this great honour. He was not alone.

Across braais, bar stools and bowls of biltong, South African rugby pundits and punters were in a similar state of surprise. It’s not that the 32year-old scrum-half is disrespected in the Republic. On the contrary, Mark Keohane, a divisive yet respected voice selected Murray as the best non-South African No.9 to have played the game since 1992. Were it not for a certain Fourie de Preez, the journalist would have selected Murray as the best scrum-half of the professional era.

The source of the collective shock was due to the by-passing of England’s captain and lynchpin Owen Farrell. As Keohane later tweeted, “(Warren) Gatland clearly doesn’t want an English captain.”

This says more about South Africans than it does about either Murray or Farrell. The All Blacks will forever be the Boks great nemesis and benchmark, but England and their players and fans just have a way of getting under the skin. Much of this has to do with the two nation’s colonial relationship as well as a perceived arrogance emanating from the land that birthed this game.