If attitude is a barometer of intent than Jordi Murphy inhabits a pretty good place mentally as he seeks to recapture his best form.
The acknowledgement that he hasn’t reached the standards he demands, let alone those expected by Leinster’s coaching team, is an honest appraisal of recent performances.
While he has struggled somewhat, others, like Josh van der Flier, have emphatically grasped the initiative on the pitch.
Murphy, speaking at the launch of the Under Armour Storm clothing line, is charged with doing likewise.
“He’s (van der Flier) been playing outstandingly well; 20 tackles at the weekend, that’s pretty impressive. I came back from the World Cup and wasn’t up to standard. In fairness to Leo (Cullen), he said ‘fight for your place amongst us’.
“He (van der Flier) more than deserved to start last week and he’s been playing really well. We have serious strength in our group at the moment.
“I have to up my game at the moment and get to the standard I know I can play at, which I haven’t found in the last few weeks.
"I've been there before so I know I can do it and hopefully surpass it again. It's not a physical thing. I'm fit at the moment. It took me too long to get back into the Leinster environment and start to get back into all the new calls, the way we are trying to play the game.
“It’s one of those things. The game of rugby is so quick. We have a squad of nearly 50 at the moment with everyone fighting for places. If you get left behind, you will be shown up pretty quick. I had to get my head into it.”
Any excuses
He concedes that he’s hard on himself. But while reluctant to offer any excuses for the dip in form – he says it’s been his fault for not being sharper and more aware of the patterns under the new coaching regime – good fortune has a role to play and can be elusive for some whose need is greater.
Murphy subscribes to South African golfer Gary Player’s dictum of ‘the harder I practice, the luckier I get’. But occasionally fate smiles kindly, in the shape of a bounce of a ball or running the perfect line to take a try scoring pass.
“That does play a role in it. Two years ago, I was very happy with how I was playing. Things started going my way. I kept finding the try-line and stuff like that. In the last few weeks, I feel like I have been that half-step off. The harder you work, the more chance you have of having positive impacts on the game, the more chance you have of things falling your way.”
Versatility, cherished when times are good in playing terms, can be a curse when trying to regain form. Murphy’s ability to play right across the back row gave him a leg-up into the Ireland squad but at this point in his career, he’d like to settle into a more specialist remit.
“I have been thinking about that of late. It is one of those things, versatility that has got me quite far obviously and it’s been great for me. But I’ll have to start thinking a bit more selfishly and try and nail down a single position.
“I know that I can play to a good quality level in all three positions but whether I can play at world class level in one of those three is a different thing. I want to focus on one.”
It’s a conversation he’s broached at provincial level.
“You have to have a good line of communication with your coach. At the end of the day he can be like, ‘no I’d much prefer if I have the option of using you wherever I like’ but you’d want the coach to be open-minded.”
He has a hankering to wear the number seven or eight jerseys, which would reduce the demands on learning roles by a third. The priority though is Saturday afternoon's trip to Scotstoun and a Guinness Pro12 clash with last season's champions the Glasgow Warriors.
Murphy just wants a chance. “Yes it would be the right kind of place to go over and try and recapture your form and build the confidence back up.”
