LIONS WATCH

Certainty for Lions: Ireland’s Conor Murray. Inset: Kieran Marmion

Given the influence that Conor Murray had on the 2013 Lions series victory in Australia, and on Ireland’s progress since then, the Munster scrum-half is as close as there is to a certainty for the forthcoming tour to New Zealand. Although Kieran Marmion did a good job as cover for Murray in the Irish victory over England in Dublin last weekend, it is difficult to imagine that the home side would not have won by a bigger margin if Murray had been fit.
Murray is a big, powerful No.9 who has already...