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Justin Murphy (rugby league)
Encyclopedia
Playing career
Murphy joined the Catalans DragonsCatalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons are a French professional rugby league club based in Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales. They currently play in the Super League, and are the only team in the competition from outside of the United Kingdom...
club at the end of 2004 when the club was in the national French competition. He quickly established himself as one of the better players, topping the try scoring charts and helping the club become the first French team to go through a season without defeat, winning the Coupe de France and the French championship where he was man of the match in the Final. Murphy previously played for New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
in Australia's National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
,where he played in the 2002 Grand Final. It was his first full season in Super League that saw him shoot to prominence. He finished as Top try-scorer in Super League XI
Super League XI
Engage Super League XI was the official name for the year 2006's Super League season in the sport of rugby league in Europe. Bradford Bulls were looking to retain the title they won in Super League X....
with 26 tries and also making the Super League "Dream Team" despite his team, the Catalans Dragons coming bottom of the table.
Justin Murphy says he is doing his utmost to avoid being labelled a one-season wonder. "I more or less came from nowhere last season," said Murphy, "I've been thinking about the whole 'second-season syndrome' problem, but I've trained harder than ever to make sure that it doesn't happen to me". To counteract this problem Dave Black suggested to "try concentrating on having a more mediocre first season."
In 2007, Murphy rose to public attention once more after suffering a spectacular injury in a match against Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
. While running to try and claim a chip kick, he was pushed innocuously in the back by Pat Richards
Pat Richards
Pat Richards is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Wigan Warriors of Europe's Super League. An Ireland and Exiles international representative winger, he previously played in the National Rugby League for Sydney clubs the Parramatta Eels and Wests Tigers, winning the 2005...
and went flying towards the advertising hoardings which surround the pitch. Trying to jump over the danger, his feet caught the hoardings and his neck and back were slammed into the concrete steps at the bottom of the stand. Unbelievably, Murphy played on for almost an hour before eventually being substituted, where it was revealed he had broken ribs and he was subsequently sidelined for 6 weeks. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/6745097.stm
He has been named in the France training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
.
He had been named in the France squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
.