With the Pro12 resuming this weekend, Frank Murphy will become the second former player of the weekend, and the competition’s history, to referee a game when he oversees Newport Gwent Dragon’s clash with Edinburgh in Rodney Parade on Sunday, writes Gavin Spillane.
Even he was taken by surprise at this little bit of history.
“I thought Johnny Lacey played in the Celtic League before” Murphy laughed.
“I didn’t think we’d (ex-Glasgow Warrior Mike Adamson will take charge of Munster’s clash with Treviso today) be the first two former players to play in the Pro12. It’s fantastic, it was an ambition of mine to referee the level I played at. So I can’t wait for it.”
A successful career at Munster, Connacht and Leicester Tigers – he started the Heineken Cup final against Wasps nine years ago- was called to a halt by injury in 2014.
Since then the 34-year-old has pursued a career in graphic design and has launched a branding and illustrations company Care Free Frank.
As he is enjoying life after rugby, he says that refereeing allows him to stay in touch with the game.
“I wanted to get into refereeing to stay in the game. I just thought that refereeing was the best way to keep involved in the game. You’re not directly involved but you’re still out on the pitch. That’s the real appeal of it for me.”
And there are certainly some very handy lessons that he picked up along the way in his 13-year playing career that he can apply to his refereeing, a project he has every intention of pursuing as long as he can.
“Doing your homework is something that I’ve taken with me from the professional game. Regardless of whether you know the teams or not, you can still work on things that will improve the game you’re officiating at the weekend.
“And I always choose the weekdays to run over things and make sure I get things right and put things in place. Just as I would as a player, just a routine I brought with me I guess.
“You have to get these things into an habitual state. It’s just about practicing them. It’s no different than being a player.”
Can Murphy picture himself overseeing a big international or Champions Cup fixture in the future?
“At the moment I’m just trying to perform in each game and see where it takes me.
“This is my Pro12 debut so I’m just getting excited about it now. Obviously, I’d like to get to that level some time but for now it’s all about this. I have ambition and I will eventually work towards it.”
