Blair Murray's coach from New Zealand has revealed he gets chills watching the full-back play for Wales. 23-year-old Murray signed for Scarlets in June last year, and despite being born and raised in New Zealand, he is Welsh-qualified through his mother, who is from Tonyrefail. Murray then made his debut for Wales against Fiji in the autumn internationals, and followed up that campaign by starring in the Six Nations, becoming one of the first names on the team sheet. Just one year ago, he was playing in Bunnings NPC, which is the semi-professional level below Super Rugby, and similar to Super Rygbi Cymru. Part of his development was playing for the University of Canterbury Vipers, where he was captain. Vipers coach Dan O'Brien spoke about what it was like seeing one of his most promising players excel in the international arena. "Blair’s one of those good examples of just getting in and persisting," O’Brien said to The New Zealand Herald . "He was overlooked by teams [and] had a number of people saying, ‘maybe he’s not tall enough, maybe he’s not big enough’. "He scores his first try for Wales and throws the V’s up [the Vipers’ victory salute] – that speaks volumes to me about his connection to the club." He also explained that he gets chills watching Murray play, describing him as "the best player on the park". Speaking after a successful start to life in Wales, Murray has revealed why he was let go by Crusaders. "[In 2024], the Crusaders told me they didn’t really have a spot for me in the next couple of years, which is fine," explained Murray to The Herald . "They wanted more experience and obviously I didn’t have any at that level. After they said that, I just wanted experience at a higher level. "Wales was always in the back of my mind because of my eligibility, so the fact I could play for them definitely made it more attractive to come here." Addressing suggestions that he could be a bolter for the upcoming British and Irish Lions tour of Australia, Murray played it down, with a focus on establishing a place in the Wales team. "I can’t even believe it’s a question, bro,” he laughed. "I don’t think I’ve got a shot... I’m pretty happy staying here and trying to get as many caps for Wales as I can."