Brian Murphy (born 16 December 1985) is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player from Ireland. He primarily plays as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. Murphy last played professionally for Irish provincial side

Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Connachta) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Con ...

in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

. Murphy grew up in

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

and played rugby for Corrib RFC. He moved from Corrib to Galwegians to play in the All-Ireland League. Murphy's form with Galwegians earned him a development contract with Connacht ahead of the 2012–13 season. Before his first season with the province began Murphy suffered an injury, tearing cartilage in his knee. Murphy made his Connacht senior team debut on 22 February 2013, starting at inside centre against Welsh side

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

in the

2012–13 Pro12 The 2012–13 Pro12 League (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th season of the rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the third with its current 12-team format, and the second with Ra ...

, and played the full 80 minutes as Connacht came out winners by a score of 22–26. Before making his debut, Murphy had featured for the provinces's second tier developmental side, the

Connacht Eagles Connacht Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Connachta) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Conn ...

, in the semi-professional

British and Irish Cup The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009 ...

. Murphy went on to make another six appearances for the senior side in the league campaign, all of these coming as starts. Murphy made only one senior appearance for Connacht the following season, with that coming in the

2013–14 Pro12 The 2013–14 Pro12 (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of the Pro12 rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the fourth with its current 12-team format, and the third with Rab ...

against Benetton Treviso. In April 2014, it was announced that Murphy was one of a number of plays who would not have their contracts renewed, and he would leave the province at the end of the season.

References

1985 births Living people Irish rugby union players Rugby union centres Connacht Rugby players Rugby union players from County Galway {{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub