Murphy made a cameo appearance from the bench in Saturday’s 66-28 defeat to New Zealand and is crossing his fingers a captain’s performance against the Maori side will see him reclaim the No.15 jersey from current first choice Rob Kearney.

“It’s a huge honour, a massive one to captain your country,” said Murphy. “It’s one I didn’t ever expect, but I was asked the other day and I can’t imagine anything that would compare.

“I’ve been there a few times and if I can bring a little bit of experience then that’s it. I’ve said it before: I don’t think the captain has as much responsibility as people give you credit for.

“We’re lucky in this team that we’ve got a lot of experience in the forwards and hopefully I’ll just have to say the right things at the right time and lead by example.

“Everyone will be up for it. We’ve touched on how passionate the Maori guys will be. It’s up to us to bring a little bit of Irishness to it as well.”