Conor Murray admits he is not thinking about new Munster contract following return from injury

He was offered a one-year deal last year by the province after being removed from the IRFU central contracting system and the current coaching uncertainty at Munster may have played a part in the delay.

The veteran scrum-half turns 36 in April but remains a vital component in the Munster and Irish international set-up, particularly now with Craig Casey out injured.

Murray himself only returned from the elbow injury that coincided with a remarkable 120th international cap against Fiji last November.

“I don’t know, to be honest with you,” he said when asked about the prospect of a new deal. “I’m not cutting you off, I’m just not really thinking about that just now.

“I suppose my immediate focus is on what’s in front of me now with Munster.

“I was out for December and I was really keen to get back fit and I managed to do that and get back on the pitch last weekend, and I really enjoyed the week, I enjoyed the game obviously, I got to play 80 which I hadn’t done in a while and really loved that.

“In terms of the contract, it’s not that I’m not talking about it, I just haven’t given it thought just yet and I don’t really have anything to say to you (about it).

“I just want to enjoy rugby, I know the end is soon, I don’t know when that will be but I just want to make sure I stay fit and enjoy it while I can.”

Fellow veteran, Peter O’Mahony, who is also no longer on a central contract, is expected to join Murray as Munster seek to top their pool, and book a lucrative home round of 16 tie, by winning in Northampton this weekend.

One suspects that he should be in line for another one-year extension also, but given the inordinate and messy delay to the signing last year – when Munster did have a head coach – nothing is guaranteed.

Munster interim head coach Ian Costello compared O’Mahony’s influence to that of another former legend of the province, Paul O’Connell, as the Cork back-row stepped up his work on the field here in Limerick.

O’Mahony didn’t feature in the anthemic win against Saracens last Saturday but his influence seeped through the build-up.

“He trained today, he didn’t do a full session, he was never meant to,” said Costello this afternoon as his side bid to nail down their starting line-up after Thursday’s final session.

“He did exactly what he needed to do today to stay in the conversation for Thursday. Having Peter with us when you travel to an away game is huge, so we’ll give him every opportunity to be involved.

“I know Peter a long, long time, I knew him when he was even grumpier than he is now, back in his Academy days.

“Same as Paulie was when he was here, when he’s in the building standards are higher, when he trains, we train better.

“He holds people to account, including the coaches, he drives standards and he sets standards and I think he draws a lot of attention when he plays. There’s a lot of focus on him, which frees up a lot of other guys, and he’s willing to be that arrowhead.

“So you want people like that in the trenches with you and he’s definitely one you’d take every single time.”