Ireland still in the hunt - Murray

Conor Murray has his sights set firmly on the Six Nations title after helping Ireland to a 19-9 victory over France in Dublin on Saturday.

Scrum-half Murray scored the only try of the game as Joe Schmidt’s side moved top of the table, his half-back partner Jonathan Sexton adding 11 points on his international return.

Ireland dominated in the key areas of the clash, performing well up front and making good ground with ball in hand.

While England could regain top spot with victory over Italy on Sunday, Murray knows Ireland are still very much in the fight for the title, especially given the two sides meet on the final weekend at the Aviva Stadium.

A man of the match performance from @ConorMurray_9 helped Ireland to a hard fought win in @AVIVAStadium – thanks for your support #TeamOfUs pic.twitter.com/Zgqhr1kTc3

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 25, 2017

“We had a few chances on their line and didn’t manage to convert, but with the way the weather was it was always going to be difficult but I think we stuck in the fight,” he told ITV Sport.

“To beat France 19-9 at home is great. To have missed a few opportunities is a little bit frustrating, but we are still in the hunt for this championship.

“[Winning] was important at the start of the week, a win and nothing else would do and we managed to do that. Now we’ve a week off to rest up and look at Wales, so we are still in the fight.”

Murray also had praise for the returning Sexton, his accuracy from the tee proving crucial as the Irish ended France’s hopes of topping the table next month.

He added: “Jonny slotted in really well, that 70-odd minutes will put him in good stead for the next [few] weeks which is going to be really, really tough against the Welsh and English.”