SUNDAY HERALD REPORTS

On the basis that a theological discussion with a sportswriter is likely to be about as rewarding as a game of chess with a halibut, Euan Murray has long since learned to take the guarded approach when conversations stray towards the territory of the religious convictions that have shaped his life for the past few years.

Yet the previously clear distinct-ion between Murray’s faith and his professional career became a lot more complex a little more than a year ago when he arrived at the decision that playing rugby on a Sunday was incompatible with his beliefs and that he would no longer make himself available for selection on the day he believed should be set aside for contemplation and worship.

That choice earned the North-ampton prop almost unqualified respect throughout the rugby community, but a few quirks of circumstance meant it had little impact on his own schedule over the months that followed. The serious ankle injury he sustained on the Lions’ tour to South Africa last year made him unavailable for most of his club’s Sunday games anyway, while Scotland’s only Sabbath fixture was against France, after which he quickly regained his place.

This season, though, is very different. For Northampton, the Aviva Premiership began with a Sunday game against Leicester – which they won – and the rest of the fixture list is peppered with Sunday matches for the Franklin’s Gardens club. At Test level, the calendar rules Murray out of Scotland’s Six Nations games against England and Ireland, and he can also play no part in the potentially critical World Cup match against Argentina or the quarter-final which seems the likeliest path for the Scots to follow.

Murray’s absence from the Leicester game gave an opening to Springbok prop Brian Mujati, who has been chosen ahead of the Scot for all but one of the Saints’ games since.

At Test level, meanwhile, Moray Low was outstanding at tighthead after an Achilles problem ruled Murray out of the summer tour to Argentina. All of which means that the man who was arguably the world’s best in his posit-ion less than two years ago is now fighting to prove he is worth his starting place for club as well as country.

Murray makes a point of giving a quick blast on his car horn every time he crosses the border into Scotland, but he may have to make an even louder noise in Northampton colours against Edinburgh at Murrayfield on Saturday if he is to make up the ground he has lost over the past few months. He is likely to be in the East Midlands club’s squad, but not necessarily their starting line-up, and he appreciates that he has work to do.

“You can understand why they would want to keep the same team because they’ve made a very good start to the season,” he says. “Brian is playing really well right now and I just have to work hard and do what I can to get back in. There’s a lot of competition at the moment. So I’m not really thinking about Scotland; I’m just trying to get my place in the Northampton team. There’s more than a month to go before the first of the November Tests, and I’ve got lots to do down here without worrying about that. The plan over the next few weeks is to get more game time and see what happens after that.”

The season’s frenetic schedule means Murray rarely gets a chance to visit Scotland for anything other than his commitments to the national squad, so it brought a smile to his face when Northampton were drawn in the same Heineken Cup pool as Edinburgh.

“Yes, it was good to see that,” he says. “My first thought was that it would be fun to see some old mates. I haven’t played against Edinburgh for a while now, so it should be interesting to do that again. The funny thing is that I’ve hardly ever played against Chunk [Edinburgh and Scotland prop Allan Jacobsen] so that will be interesting too.”

When both have been fit, Murray and Jacobsen have been Scotland’s first-choice props for the past three seasons, which adds a fascinating dynamic to their potential tete-a-tete next weekend. Just how do you approach a potentially brutal confrontation with a player you know better as a comrade in arms?

Murray says: “You just have to ignore who you are playing against and try to concentrate on doing what you do technically well. You have to have the same attitude as you’d have against anyone else. You can’t be half-hearted about it because the chances are that the other guy won’t be doing that and you’ll just end up looking like an idiot.”

Next year’s World Cup could be a critical time for Murray. If he has not re-established himself as Scotland’s first-choice tighthead by that point there is an argument to be made, given his likely unavailability for two important matches, that he should not be included in the squad. However, if he has overtaken Low again then it would be perverse to leave him at home.

Murray was on holiday in the US when Scotland won their two Tests in Argentina, but he watched out for reports on the games. Was he gnashing his teeth when Low performed so well in his place? “It’s not really like that,” he answers carefully. “There’s always competition in any team. It doesn’t really matter if your competition does well. Good for him if he played well. When I am selected for Scotland I’m out there to represent my country, and he does the same. And he’s done a good job, so well done.

“I try not to have any rivalry. I just try to focus on what I can do. If I don’t get selected then I don’t get selected. And if I am then I’ll go out and play as hard as I can, as usual.”

This article was originally posted on 10-Oct-2010, 16:39 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 10-Oct-2010, 16:44.