2019 is a huge year for all rugby fans, as the Rugby World Cup finals return to screens around the world. The quadrennial tournament takes a pretty standard format: 20 finalist nations contest 48 matches over six weeks, with the winner lifting the Webb Ellis trophy to be crowned as men’s XVs Rugby World Cup champions.
The action kicks off on Friday, September 20, when host Japan plays Russia in Tokyo. Fans from all corners of the globe will descend on the island nation, where rugby fever has been growing over the past few years (especially since that victory over South Africa four years ago).
But for a series of mishaps during earlier qualification rounds, international Rugby’s biggest event could have featured another burgeoning rugby state: Spain. The Spanish team, or “El XV del León” as they are affectionately known, would have been playing in their first Rugby World Cup finals since they competed in the 1999 tournament in Wales. However, a judicial enquiry, prompted by a highly controversial final qualification game between “Los Leones” and Belgium, saw both teams (along with Romania) eliminated from the 2019 finals for fielding ineligible players. This debacle was a real blow to the momentum Spanish rugby has built in recent years, alongside the continued growth of the women’s game.
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UE Santboiana v. Cajasol Sevilla 2011. Photo by Miquel C. (Wikimedia).
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UE Santboiana v. Cajasol Sevilla 2011. Photo by Miquel C. (Wikimedia).
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UE Santboiana v. Cajasol Sevilla 2011. Photo by Miquel C. (Wikimedia).
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UE Santboiana v. Cajasol Sevilla 2011. Photo by Miquel C. (Wikimedia).
Rugby in Spain
Spain and rugby might not seem like the most obvious pairing, but Barcelona actually has a long association with the sport. There are seven major clubs based here, including Unió Esportiva Santboiana, the oldest team in Spain. At least three Barcelona teams play at the highest level of national rugby—the Division of Honor—including FCB Rugby, Santboiana and the women’s team INEF, with many others competing in lower leagues.
Though this year’s World Cup finals will have some Hispanic participation—the Argentina and Uruguay national teams both made it—you would probably think that there isn’t a real link between the Iberian peninsula and this year’s event. And a bond between Barcelona and the world cup in Japan is surely even more elusive...
The Early Years
Step forward Jordi Murphy, a professional rugby player born in Barcelona who is now plying his trade with Ulster Rugby and the Ireland National Team.
Born in the city’s Vall d’Hebron Hospital on the eve of St Jordi’s Day in the year before the 1992 Olympics, Jordi spent his first decade in Barcelona. His first language was Catalan, followed by Spanish, and he has fond, if hazy, memories of his time at the Sant Ignasi School in Sarria.
Highlights from what has been a storied career have to include Ireland’s historic victory over the New Zealand “All Blacks” in Chicago in November 2016, even if Jordi personally has mixed feelings about the game.
Like all Spanish kids, Jordi’s first sporting passion was for the round ball game played by FC Barcelona (he remains an obsessive Barça fan to this day). An early hero was former Barcelona and Holland goalkeeper Ruud Hesp—a regular in the 1998 Double winning side coached by Louis Van Gaal. It’s hardly surprising, then, that Jordi’s first competitive sports appearances saw him in goal for his school football team, where he excelled.
It was clear even at that early age that Jordi had athletic ability, but it was too early to discern a focus for it. This makes sense, as the Murphy family had sport in its blood; Jordi’s grandfather Noel Carroll was an outstanding Irish middle distance runner who set European and World records during the 1960s and competed at the Tokyo and Mexico Olympics.
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L'Hospitalet INEF v. VPC Andorra. Photo by Edu Rois, courtesy of Club Esportiu-INEF Barcelona (Flickr).
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L'Hospitalet INEF v. VPC Andorra. Photo by Edu Rois, courtesy of Club Esportiu-INEF Barcelona (Flickr).
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L'Hospitalet INEF v. VPC Andorra. Photo by Edu Rois, courtesy of Club Esportiu-INEF Barcelona (Flickr).
The family’s stay in Barcelona ended when they returned to Ireland with Jordi at the turn of the millennium. School studies were the priority and he was enrolled at the Willow Park School in Dublin—part of the prestigious Blackrock College.
Along with its excellent academic record, Blackrock is steeped in sporting history. The principal sport is rugby, and it has consistently been amongst the best teams in Ireland since a first championship win in 1887. More recently they have produced a number of illustrious players including Brian O’Driscoll and Fergus Slattery. Jordi was quickly enrolled in the rugby program and dreams of a goalkeeping career with FC Barcelona were soon forgotten.
Jordi’s playing position is a “back row forward,” he usually plays as a flanker, one of the most important positions on a rugby pitch and one which requires speed, fitness, smart tactical positioning and fearless tackling ability.
Going Pro
Jordi’s rugby skills developed exponentially, winning various accolades for the Irish national school teams and Leinster junior ones. This continued growth took him the men’s senior first team reserves bench in London’s Twickenham Stadium during the 2014 Six Nations Tournament, anxiously waiting to be called on to the field to win his cap against England. His father Conor said, “Well, in the end he got on the field for a few minutes. A few minutes doesn’t seem a lot, but for many Irish people the only thing better than a first Ireland appearance against England in London, would be against England in Dublin. We are all immensely proud of him.”
Jordi has gone on to play for Ireland 28 times and has been a key member of the Six Nations winning teams of 2014, 2015 and 2018. This has been a golden era for Irish rugby, with a production line of talented players competing fiercely for a place in the national team. In spite of this pressure, and a couple of badly timed injuries, Jordi has been almost ever-present in the Ireland squad during that period.
Jordi Murphy (top left) playing for Ireland in the 2015 Rugby World Cup (Ireland v. Romania). Photo by Peter Edwards (Wikimedia).
In 2015 he was selected in the World Cup squad for that year’s finals in England and Wales. While Ireland’s tournament ended at the quarter final stage, when they were beaten by a rampant Argentina, Jordi scored his first international try in the same match.
Highlights from what has been a storied career have to include Ireland’s historic victory over the New Zealand “All Blacks” in Chicago in November 2016, even if Jordi personally has mixed feelings about the game. Though he started the match and wrote himself into rugby folklore by scoring the first try, he was forced off the field after 25 minutes with a serious knee injury. However, after lengthy treatment he was able to hobble back onto the sidelines and celebrate a famous day with the tens of thousands of Irish fans who had travelled to the USA for the match.
Jordi’s career in club rugby has been as successful as at international level, since he made his senior debut for home province Leinster in 2011. One hundred appearances and countless titles later, notably Leinster’s unprecedented European Cup and Pro14 Double in 2018, Jordi thought it was time for a change.
With the 2019 Rugby World Cup looming and with the offer of more playing time to bear in mind, Jordi made the difficult decision to leave Leinster at the end of the 2018 season to join the Ulster provincial team. When asked about the move from Leinster, he quoted basketball superstar LeBron James: “To succeed, you can’t be afraid to fail.” As for retaining his international place the World Cup in Japan? “I’m going to work just as hard as I ever have and keep playing well and hope to be on that plane.”
A particular strength of Jordi’s game is his ability to soar above giants of the rugby lineout and secure important possession in spite of his relatively short (by rugby’s standards) 1.88 meter height. And this nimble athleticism brings us neatly back to his first passion, FC Barcelona, “I still sometimes wonder if I could have been successful in the nets?”
As the summer fades into the Autumn, Barcelona’s rugby fans will fill the city’s many sports bars to watch the 2019 Rugby World Cup unfold. Hopefully the whole spectacle will further ignite the growing passion for rugby in the Catalan capital, and that victory will come to Ireland and to Barcelona’s very own Jordi Murphy.