SUNDAY HERALD REPORTS
By Alisdair Reid
Northampton’s tighthead prop is a powerhouse on the pitch, but a very different beast off it, finds Alasdair Reid
YOU COULD call Euan Murray's manner languid, but even that term would exaggerate the urgency of his general approach to life. The 28-year-old gives the impression that in a foot race he would finish a distant second to a tectonic plate, while his conversation unfolds at a rate that suggests the polar ice caps might be in danger of melting before he reaches the end of his sentence. As the adverts almost used to say, you really can't hurry this Murray.

Yet the laconic and affable individual who sinks himself into his chair and speaks in a slow, slow drawl transforms himself into a very different beast when he steps over the touchline in the colours of Northampton or Scotland. Off the field, he may be about as animated as a garden shed, but the demands of his day job reveal eye-watering levels of power and aggression and an all-round effectiveness in his chosen position of tighthead prop that marks him out as one of the best in the world today.

Perhaps the best? Carl Hayman, the man-mountain New Zealander who has taken up temporary residence in Newcastle these past two seasons, might dispute that point, but as Murray's most recent international outings have seen him get the better of the finest available props of Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa, then he at least deserves consideration when that accolade is up for grabs. And if he carries on at his current rate, he will leave all other contenders standing.

advertisementWe will know by the end of this year's RBS Six Nations season. Murray is carrying a rib injury that may yet force him out of Scotland's opening match against Wales next weekend, but if he comes back remotely close to his best in subsequent matches he will be run-away favourite to fill the tighthead slot in the Lions Test side who take on South Africa this year. Not since the days of the mighty Iain Milne - who, let's not forget, never quite made that final step with the Lions - has Scotland had a player so reassuringly solid, or so comfortably ahead of his rivals, in the still-critical role of anchoring the scrum.

As befits a man for whom pace can sometimes seem a dirty word, off the field at least, Murray has accrued superlatives slowly. A good enough prospect as an amateur player with Glasgow Hawks to be invited to tour North America with Scotland in 2002, he declined in favour of sitting the exam-inations that were part of his training to become a veterinary surgeon.

In fact, it was only around 2005 that Murray was finally able to concentrate on rugby, a delay that inevitably begs the question of how many caps he could have collected beyond the 25 he has gathered to date.

Murray's emergence was also delayed by a sequence of injuries that led some to wonder whether he would ever make the breakthrough. His litany of problems was such that it was easy to conclude that somebody up there - and, for the avoidance of doubt, we are not talking about Frank Hadden here - didn't like him. And at the risk of sounding facetious, the same thought began to occur to Murray himself.

It would be an insult to Murray to make a glib connection between finding God and good things starting to happen, but it is certainly true that his luck seemed to turn following the reaffirm-ation of his faith a few years ago. From the start of the 2006 season he has been a virtual ever-present in the Scotland side, as far ahead of his compatriots as he is of those against whom he pits his formidable powers.

To an outsider, it can be hard to resolve the apparent contradiction of Murray's life. On the one hand, he is driven by his belief in a compassionate, loving God; on the other he is, unashamedly, in the business of hurting people. So Euan, just how does that one work?

"People have a misconception of what God is like," he explains. "The image is of a benevolent old grand-father, and the Bible does say that God is love. But he's also a God of justice and wrath and you just have to look at the life of Jesus and you will see that at times he was aggressive.

"So while I play rugby as an aggressive sport, there's nothing wrong with aggression so long as it's not malevolent. I can go and tackle someone as hard as I poss-ibly can, but that doesn't mean to say I hate the guy. I don't fake anything when I play. I go out to do things to the best of my abilities and I have to be as aggressive as I possibly can and hit people as hard as I possibly can. But I'm not interested in sledging or trying to belittle people. Actions speak louder than words."

And sometimes actions are needed to back the words up. Since last November's Tests there has been such a mood of confidence about the Scotland camp that is has sometimes been easy to forget that the side lost two of the three games they played. As admirable as much of their play against New Zealand and South Africa might have been, Canada's was the only scalp they claimed.

Murray is all too aware of that: "It was disappointing not to come away with at least two out of three wins. That would have been a successful autumn series. We need to make the correct decisions under pressure and unfortunately we didn't do that against South Africa.

"But as I said back then, the more times we get into these positions and the more opportunities we get against big teams then the more we will make the right decisions. Everything grows, everything becomes more natural the more you are exposed to it."

That principle applies to the Scottish front five especially. Where once they might have hoped only to hold their own, Scotland's tight forwards can now back themselves to dominate opp-onents, providing the foundations of a performance by the team as a whole. The responsibility is something Murray takes seriously. "I think we have taken big steps forward," he says. "We can't become complacent because we always have to strive to work and play as hard as we can. But we did do well in the autumn matches. It's something we need to continue working on. Rugby is all about intimidation, so as long as we keep working hard at it then I think it will be an even more useful tool."

Murray is not troubled by the recollection of last year's championship, when Scotland appeared in good shape at the outset but came unstuck after losing their opening match against France, 27-6.

"We're a year further ahead. We've all got a year's more experience, another year of playing at the top level behind us. We were confident last year, but that is a good thing. The older we get and the more experienced we get, will start to show on the pitch with results."

This article was posted on 1-Feb-2009, 14:39 by Hugh Barrow.