However, taking a welcome break from the rigours of preseason training, the 25 year revealed that he cut his rugby teeth as a rampaging back row forward until he was brought to earth with a bump and the transition to front row forward took place!
"I was told I was too slow and too fat so, there you go, you're in the front row by default! To be fair, when I was younger, I was told that you don't choose the front row, the front row chooses you."
"I left college when I was 18 and went to University, St Mary's in Twickenham, and we were split up into units as early as freshers week."
"I started to amble towards the back row group and was promptly told to keep walking and join the front rowers! So, that was the choice made for me."
However, despite the fact that he's since had to focus on skills such as scrummaging, Murphy feels that his apprenticeship as a number eight still reaps rewards.
"Hopefully what I've kept from my back row days is dynamic ball carrying and a bit of ball work. People like to see a bit extra from their props these days, not just out and out scrummagers walking from scrum to scrum."
"They like to see a bit of mobility and ball handling and also to see the big guys score tries so I'd like to I can get a few of those as well."
At a recent Fans Forum at Kingsholm, Forwards Coach Carl Hogg described Murphy as a 'victim of circumstance' at London Irish, destined to miss out more often than not due to playing the same position as the club captain, Clarke Dermody.
It's a viewpoint the loose head echoes and he's keen to make a real impact with Gloucester to make up for lost time.
"Obviously I loved my time at London Irish and I'm so grateful to them for giving me a chance and, ultimately, a career."
"But, when England started pushing Alex Corbisiero to the loose head, it pushed another player into the battle for one jersey."
"I wasn't looking for a way out or anything but when there are two dominant players, including the captain who's an All Black, who are in favour then it's difficult to break through."
"It was part of my reasoning for leaving but sometimes you just need a fresh start. I'm out of my comfort zone here, I'm settling into a new area, starting with a clean slate and I'm looking forward to the challenge."
That challenge, of course, involves trying to build upon a 2010-11 campaign when Gloucester finished third in the Aviva Premiership and won the LV= Cup. To his credit, it's something he's anticipating keenly.
"Teams always say that they want to do one better than the year before and, for Gloucester, one better is the final."
"Every team wants to be there, that's why you play rugby. This team won silverware last year and still wants to better itself and I want to be part of it."
"It was an easy decision and, when Gloucester offered me a contract, I jumped at the chance to be in this type of environment. And, after I'd signed, I watched on and saw them reach the semi final and that made me even more hungry to be here."
A long season lies ahead and, given the humid conditions outside and the amount of tough physical work lying ahead, you could forgive anyone for feeling less than enthused but even preseason training is something of a novelty at present.
"The way training is structured is a lot different and that's good because I've spent five years doing the same preseason. I'm not saying preseason at Irish was a bad thing, it's tried and tested."
"But new training, new facilities, a new way of thinking is good for a player. You're always trying to push yourself, impress the new players and coaches. It's been good for me."
And, once the training is over, two preseason friendlies (London Welsh, August 20th, 3pm and Russia, August 26th, 7:45pm) lie in wait, games that can't come soon enough.
"I've always said that stadiums like Kingsholm are such good places to play your rugby. You get such a good atmosphere, a huge crowd and it'll be nice to have them cheering for me for once!"
"I'm really looking forward to it. It's a great rugby city with a strong rugby culture and I can't wait to run out at Kingsholm. It's going to be a great feeling and hopefully I can show what my scrummaging can do and a little bit extra as well."
