During his playing days, full-back Geordan Murphy was widely regarded as one of the most dangerous attacking talents in the game. The Dublin-born flyer won 72 caps for Ireland during his 11-year international career, including a British and Irish Lions tour and two Rugby World Cup campaigns. A broken leg cruelly cost him a place in Ireland’s Rugby World Cup 2003 squad, but Murphy did feature at the tournament in 2007 and again in 2011.

One of the highlights of Murphy’s international career came in 2009, as part of Ireland’s first Six Nations Grand Slam winning side since 1948. Murphy also carved out a stellar reputation in the club game, representing Leicester Tigers 205 times and helping the East Midlands club towards eight Premiership titles and two Heineken Cups. The mercurial full-back, now involved in the coaching set-up at his beloved Leicester, sat down with rugbyworldcup.com to discuss Ireland’s performances in the Six Nations so far and weigh up what lies ahead for Joe Schmidt’s men in 2015.

COVERING THE BASICS

Ireland have won two from two in this year’s Six Nations. What do you think of their performances so far?

Geordan Murphy: "I don’t think Ireland have hit their peak just yet. They’ve put in some solid performances but probably not as much flair as most people would have liked. They went to Italy to get a win, put in a workmanlike performance and ground out a result. Similarly against France, the opposition had the lion’s share of possession - we were behind on just about every statistic - but we still managed to grind out a win."

Would a good performance in this year’s Six Nations give Ireland an extra edge going into Rugby World Cup 2015?

GM: "Every team wants to have form ahead of a Rugby World Cup, and coaches in particular will want to have their tactics and patterns of play formulated in their minds. But it’s not the be all and end all, as many teams will have a fair bit of time together before the tournament."

Will Ireland’s results against France and Italy have any psychological impact on the corresponding fixtures at Rugby World Cup 2015?

GM: "Whenever you’re asked if the Six Nations impacts on a Rugby World Cup, I think the answer is yes if you do well and no if you don’t. A lot of people in England thought that beating Wales in the opening match of the tournament would give them a psychological advantage ahead of their Pool A match, but I really don’t think it does. Rugby World Cups are one-off occasions and Wales will be re-assessing and training towards that. I think that most teams will take the Six Nations as it is and worry about Rugby World Cup 2015 further down the line."

ENGLAND SHOWDOWN

How important is this weekend’s match against England?

GM: "The next game is huge as it pits the two unbeaten sides in the Six Nations against each other. But there will still be two very tough games to go for Ireland after that. Even if we do win this weekend, we’ve got to go to Murrayfield and Cardiff and get results there, and that’s going to be far from easy."

Do you see Jonny Sexton and George Ford as two very different types of fly-half?

GM: "They are different but similar in a way. Jonny is a bigger, more physical player who controls the game very well. George might not be as big but he reads the game very well and always shows tremendous bravery. Needless to say, they are both world class fly-halves with immense kicking ability."

Are you confident of an Irish victory this weekend?

GM: "I’d say I was more hopeful than confident. I was in Cardiff for the opening game of the Six Nations and was very impressed with England, particularly in the second half. If there’s a good atmosphere then home advantage should help us, although we’ve already seen how well England deal with high-pressure environments. If I had to go one way or the other, I’d go for Ireland to win on Sunday. I’m not sure if that’s my head or my heart, but either way it’s going to be close."

IMPRESSED BY DEPTH

Which players have impressed you the most so far?

GM: "From an Irish point of view Johnny Sexton. For someone who spent 12 weeks on the sidelines to come in and play like he did against France is very encouraging. Robbie Henshaw and Jared Payne are also an exciting partnership in midfield. These guys were both playing at full-back until about a year ago, but now they’re in the centres together for the national team and doing very well."

Ireland enjoyed a successful 2014. Are they still improving?

GM: "Yes I think so. I’m very impressed with the way Joe Schmidt has blooded a lot of young talent across the field. Just look at Tommy O’Donnell who had a stormer in Italy but was left out of the second game against France. Those types of selections show just what a strong squad Ireland have. Although they aren’t playing to the best of their ability right now, Ireland are definitely playing a winning brand of rugby."

EMERGING NATIONS

Who are you tipping to win Rugby World Cup 2015?

GM: "It’s difficult to look beyond New Zealand. However, England are looking very strong and beginning to turn Twickenham into a fortress. Ireland wouldn’t be bad as an outside bet either. We’ve never passed the quarter-final stages of a Rugby World Cup before, and if we can beat France and Italy."

Which games are you particularly looking forward to?

GM: "The big games for Ireland are obviously Italy and France. We play them every year and they are the perceived stronger sides. But, as Ireland have found out in past tournaments, you have to give full respect to the lower ranked sides. Which Ireland fan could forget what happened against Georgia and Namibia at Rugby World Cup 2007? Canada are an improving side, they’ve done very well on the Sevens circuit and the game is growing there. As for Romania, you never know what you’re going to get with them.

"I think it’s hugely important that these teams play in Rugby World Cups. Second tier nations are improving, the coaching is getting better, and they are getting more funding from World Rugby. It’s only a matter of time before the gap is bridged."