The Scarlets full-back has been a rare ray of light in this generational woeful run of form for Wales, write Ben Coles
Following his debut at the back end of 2024 for Wales – a successful one, given he scored with his first touch in Test rugby – Blair Murray was joined on the field by his family for a photo, proudly wearing his first cap, writes Ben Coles.
His mum, dad and sister were all there, having flown in from Taranaki in New Zealand, and stood alongside Murray’s girlfriend. And then there were more family members. A lot more. Another 27 people, in fact, when you tot them all up, and if you include the baby in a carrier, who in years to come will no doubt be shown the moment they were there for Uncle Blair’s Wales debut.
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“I can’t believe how many cousins I’ve got, to be honest,” Murray laughs. Given that Murray has been settling outside of New Zealand for the first time, having that support network seems to have been immensely valuable.
Much like the sight of Murray bursting through a gap in a defensive line, his start to life in Wales fittingly was a blur. In what felt like mere minutes after he had arrived to join the Scarlets, having only played just six games for the region, Murray was being picked by Warren Gatland to start on the wing against Fiji.
“I’ve never lived outside of New Zealand until I came here. But having so many family members that are so loving and supportive, being able to see them whenever I want, it’s really nice.”
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‘I’d support the All Blacks but if Wales had won, I’d still be happy’
New Zealand’s wing Caleb Clarke, tackled by Wales’ full-back Blair Murray (Getty Images)
The background here is that Murray’s mother, Paula, hails from Tonyrefail in the Rhondda. His father, Jim, was travelling around Europe, working on ski fields and playing hockey, when he met Paula in England. They stayed there for a couple of years before heading back to New Zealand.
Murray was born in Hāwera – population a shade under 11,000 – and growing up played as a fly-half at New Plymouth Boys’ High School, the alma mater of Reuben Thorne, Paul Tito and Jimmy Gopperth. If you were a fly-half in New Zealand growing up in the 2000s and 2010s, Dan Carter will be one of your idols. But Murray also looked up to Israel Dagg, Nehe Milner-Skudder and, most of all, the great Ben Smith.
“He (Smith) kind of didn’t really do anything wrong, did he? He was just such a good all-round player. I thought he was just amazing.” Whenever New Zealand faced Wales, Murray’s mum would watch in her Wales shirt. Murray could not pick a side.
“Pretty much every kid in New Zealand wants to become an All Black. Obviously I knew my Welsh heritage, so I had two dreams at the same time. Play for the All Blacks or for Wales. When they played each other, I was kind of on the fence. I’d support the All Blacks but if Wales had won, I’d still be happy.”
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Blair Murray of Scarlets in action against Hugo Keenan of Leinster during the United Rugby Championship quarter-final match between Leinster and Scarlets (Getty Images)
Blair Murray is the ‘definition of a pocket rocket’
There is a clip of Murray turning out for New Zealand Schoolboys against Fiji. Collecting a pass inside his half, stepping past two defenders, then racing free. Moving to full-back by the time Murray was 17 proved transformative. He could pick out those gaps in defences that were out of sync and punish them.
“He’s the definition of a pocket rocket,” Scott Robertson, the former All Blacks head coach, said of Murray in the build-up to Wales hosting New Zealand in November. “He’s 5ft 7in and can bounce, spin and hit.”
Robertson and the Crusaders had wanted Murray to develop as a fly-half, but by the time he arrived in the Crusaders academy he was a full-back, having spent previous years with the Chiefs.
Murray was in and around the Crusaders’ first-team squad without truly settling, turning out for Canterbury while biding his time for his big chance, training alongside the likes of Richie Mo’unga during pre-season when the All Blacks players returned from their end-of-year break. Murray’s best chance felt like the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season, but the Crusaders were in freefall after a glut of experienced players retired.
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“They were near the bottom of the table but they said they just needed more experience. They basically told me for the next couple of years, you probably won’t have a run for us.”
At which point, Murray picked up the phone to see what was out there in the motherland. He heard a pitch about life in Wales and playing for the Scarlets from Leigh Halfpenny. A torn pectoral meant Halfpenny only played once for the Crusaders. His greatest impact arguably came by convincing Murray to head north.
“He just sold me the dream, said how much I’d enjoy it. And yeah, he was right. I’ve loved it since I’ve been here.” One message on Murray’s Instagram when his move to Scarlets was confirmed – “On ya Blairy!” – came from Mo’unga.
“He’s awesome, an incredible player, a really nice guy and so talented. Really smart, switched on,” Murray says about the All Blacks fly-half. “I think talent-wise at the moment in world rugby, Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) from South Africa might be the only one who matches Richie.”
Blair Murray of Wales shows dejection after the team’s 19-24 defeat (Getty Images)
Where are things going wrong for Wales?
There is no good moment to bring up Wales’ 73-0 rout by South Africa, so let’s use the mention of Feinberg-Mngomezulu as a segue. Wales’ expectations going into the autumn, the first campaign under new head coach Steve Tandy, were low. ‘Take the learnings’ might be one of elite sport’s more tired expressions but after a bludgeoning like that, what else can you do?
“You’ve got to move forward, to take positives if you can. That was our last game of the autumn series, so we just wanted to enjoy each other’s company and not let it ruin the mood too much,” Murray says. “It’s tough. Physically, we’ve got to be… we have to continue to grow as better athletes but our team is quite young. A lot of boys have ten or less caps. So as we continue to grow and develop as players and as athletes, I think we’ll start to get better at that.”
This is not meant to sound patronising, given Wales are in the midst of a generationally awful run and also shipped over 50 points against Argentina and New Zealand in November. But there were hints of growth, of the identity Tandy wants his Wales side to play with. Wales, in patches, attacked with a clear plan.
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Blair Murray of Wales is tackled by Mamoru Harada and Keijiro Tamefusa of Japan (Getty Images)
“His (Tandy’s) bedrocks are just being tough, being brave,” adds Murray. “We want to be brave and stick to our game plan. We don’t want to shy away and I think we’ve shown good growth in that. We started to play a bit more, shift the ball more. We saw it against the All Blacks, were still in it until probably the last 20 where we had a couple of yellow cards. Rog (Tom Rogers) scoring a hat-trick is a perfect example of us backing our game plan, shifting it to an edge and getting our good athletes with the ball in their hands.”
When the tide does turn for Wales, you sense Murray will be at the heart of it. Comparing anyone to Christian Cullen is slightly absurd, but there is something about the way Murray explodes through weak spots in defensive lines. He reckons his top speed is a shade over ten metres per second but he looks quicker than that. Razor was on the money with the “pocket rocket” tag.
“I’m more of an off-the-mark kind of guy, and then I hope my pace is good enough where I won’t get caught from behind,” Murray says.
With that blend of Murray, Rogers and Louis Rees-Zammit back playing rugby with more muscle but the same ruthless instincts, Wales have a potent back three to feed the ball to. Murray may have not ended up being the next Carter or Ben Smith, but his childhood dream of representing Wales is alive. No Welsh mother was more proud than Paula in those moments after Murray’s try-scoring debut, holding her son in a long embrace. He arrived in Wales welcomed by the support network of his extended family. Now he has a whole nation behind him.
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