Murphy has built confidence at Ulster - Izuchukwu

Cormac Izuchukwu has featured in all of Murphy's games so far

Ulster lock Cormac Izuchukwu believes Richie Murphy has restored confidence at Kingspan Stadium.

The Ireland Under-20s boss arrived in Belfast, initially on an interim basis, following the sacking of previous head coach Dan McFarland.

The Irish province have won back to back games in the United Rugby Championship [URC] and travel to Scarlets on Saturday.

“Richie has been great for me coming in," said Izuchukwu.

"[He] gave me a bit of confidence as well. He’s really good at telling you how good you are.

"He doesn’t focus on the stuff you are bad at, just the stuff you are good at."

Izuchukwu has so far played in all of Murphy's fixtures in charge. His eight selections in succession date back to McFarland's final game and represent the longest such streak of his career.

Three years on from his debut for the side, the 24-year-old has started to notice the good and bad of the recent increased exposure.

The lock found himself at the centre of a social media debate after a try-saving tackle against Cardiff last month. Having chased down Tom Young in the corner, he dislodged the ball just as the opposing flanker went to ground for the score.

For all that Izuchukwu's work-rate merited praise, many felt the tackle to be illegal as the ball came loose only upon contact with his feet.

Even former Test referee Nigel Owens weighed in on the online discussion that was perhaps lengthened by the the sense that Cardiff had not had the rub of the green across the entirety of Ulster's 19-17 victory.

“I really didn’t think too much of it to be honest [but] that night I was at my friend's house and got a text message from some fellow in Wales saying he wasn’t too happy with me," Izuchukwu added.

In person at least, others were more complimentary of his efforts.

He added: "I was in Ikea and some lady came up to me [to say well done].

"Made my day. It is nice to get that feeling that you are appreciated and supported. That’s important.”

Izuchukwu's tackle against Cardiff sparked plenty of debate

'I had never played in the forwards'

If Izuchukwu's development into a matchday regular for Ulster has been gradual, it reflects the fact that even as a professional he was still learning the intricacies of his position.

Born in London, he would spend the first eight years of his life in England before his Irish mother moved the family home to County Offaly.

There, Izuchukwu played all manner of sports but says he "fell in love with rugby" at Roscrea College.

He had played as a back in school but, after a five-inch growth spurt saw him shoot to 6'7'', he answered an online ad for a second row at Kelso RFC in Scotland having never before featured in the position.

"I was in Scotland just playing for a club, you’d get like £70 a week in a brown envelope on a Saturday to do my bills, and then I ended up going down to Newcastle [Falcons] for a while," he said.

"I moved to Scotland for the craic and ended up playing second row."

Having first returned to Ireland to be a part of the sevens programme, he joined the Ulster academy in 2020 and has since had veteran Alan O'Connor to give him a helping hand in the more technical aspects of his role.

"Big Al has been good to me since day one.

"When I came up here I wasn’t a second row, I was a centre.

"So he taught me everything I know about mauling, jumping in the lineouts, scrumming.”

'You think you are good enough to play every week'

Although both have been injured recently, Izuchuwku normally has had Ireland international pair Iain Henderson and Kieran Treadwell ahead of him, as well as O'Connor who has amassed almost 200 games of professional rugby.

He admits that there are times when not being selected has been difficult.

“It’s a tough one and still something that I am working on.

"As every player does, you think you are good enough to play every week.

“You have to take a minute, step back, and respect that they have done so much and maybe I haven’t proved as much to the coaches.

"Maybe it is just a case, like the last two weeks, that whenever you get an opportunity just try and make sure you show the coaches what you have.”