Frank Murphy

Frank Murphy (born 2 December 1983) is a former professional rugby union player from Ireland who works as a referee for the Irish Rugby Football Union. He primarily played as a scrum-half. Originally from County Cork, Murphy played for his native province of Munster before moving to the English side Leicester Tigers.

Murphy began refereeing in the All-Ireland League in 2015, progressing to referee in the British and Irish Cup later that year. He began refereeing at international level in 2016, and has taken charge of games in the European Nations Cup. In November 2016, Murphy took charge of his first Pro12 game, and has since gone on to referee in the Challenge Cup at European level.

Early life Murphy grew up in Crosshaven, a village in south County Cork, and began his playing career with the local team, Crosshaven RFC. In his final year of secondary school, he went on to play with Christian Brothers College, Cork. While playing with the Christian Brothers team, he won the Munster Schools Senior Cup, beating Rockwell College in the final.

Playing career

Munster Murphy went on to play at senior level for his native provincial team, Munster. Murphy made his debut for the side on 17 October 2003, in a 2003–04 Celtic League match, away against Welsh side Newport Gwent Dragons. He came off the bench, replacing Eoin Reddan in a match Munster went on to lose 29–6. Murphy made a total of nine appearances in the league that season, with all but one of them coming from the bench.

In the 2004–05 Celtic League Murphy made only two appearances, starting on both occasions, while in the 2005–06 Celtic League he made one start and three appearances as a replacement. Murphy made his European debut for the Tigers on 13 January 2007 in the 2006–07 Heineken Cup as a replacement against Cardiff Blues. In his first season with the club, Murphy made 16 Premiership appearances, starting on 9 occasions. At the end of the season Murphy appeared in both the Premiership final and Heineken Cup final. Murphy started the Premiership final against Gloucester as Leicester won 44–16, with Murphy scoring one of Leicester's tries. He also started the Heineken Cup final against London Wasps, only his second ever appearance in a European match. The opposition scrum-half on the day was Murphy's former Munster teammate Eoin Reddan. The Tigers came out second best, losing 25–9 at Twickenham.

In his second season with Leicester, Murphy featured in fewer Premiership games, but played more often in European matches. He played in 13 2007–08 Premiership games, starting 8 of these as Leicester finished in fourth, but made it to the final. Murphy did not feature in either the semi-final or the final as Leicester lost to Wasps. Murphy made 16 appearances in the league that season, starting in all but one of these games. Murphy made his European debut for the province on 10 October 2008 against French side Dax in the 2008–09 European Challenge Cup. He started in six games for Connacht in the cup as they finished as runners-up in their pool and made it to the quarter-finals of the competition.

In the 2011–12 season, Connacht qualified for their first ever Heineken Cup. Ahead of Connacht's first season in the top tier of European rugby, the team signed another scrum-half, Paul O'Donohoe from Leinster. Murphy remained Connacht's first choice in the position, playing 20 games in the 2011–12 league, which had been renamed the Pro12. In their absence, academy scrum-half Kieran Marmion excelled, and went on to start every game that season. Murphy mad only a single substitute appearance that season, coming in the 2012–13 Pro12.

In April 2014, it was announced that Murphy's contract with Connacht was not being renewed and he would be leaving the province at the end of the season. He was one of a number of high-profile departures that included fellow centurion Gavin Duffy and former Scottish international fly-half Dan Parks. Murphy retired from professional rugby after leaving Connacht.

Refereeing career Following his retirement from playing rugby, Murphy started to work as a referee in the sport as a way of staying in the game. Murphy progressed quickly through the IRFU's Inter Provincial Appointments System, and in February 2015 was added to the union's National Panel of Referees, officiating in All-Ireland League matches. Murphy refereed his first international match in February 2016, when he took charge of a European Nations Cup game between and . On 27 November 2016, Murphy refereed his first Pro12 game, between Newport Gwent Dragons and Edinburgh.