Tales from the Members Bar v2 no13 - Euan Murray

Happy New Year, everyone. The week leading up to the Tigers game was a bit of a trial. Not the least the weather. When I arrived at the ground, I discovered that I had left too early to pick up the Communications Manager’s email telling me that the team were training off-site...

Tales from the Members’ Bar

Vol.2 No.13 Euan Murray

Happy New Year, everyone. The week leading up to the Tigers game was a bit of a trial. Not the least the weather. When I arrived at the ground, I discovered that I had left too early to pick up the Communications Manager’s email telling me that the team were training off-site. Those that watched Rugby Club may have recognised Northampton School for Boys. It was just like going home for Digger and Courtney.

Yes, the weather was a bit of an issue and there was no way that anywhere on Franklins Gardens was suitable for training.

While I was waiting for the players to return, I realised that I was not alone. BBC Radio Northampton and the Chronicle & Echo had received the email and were not there. Heart FM, BBC Look East, the Herald & Post, The Times, Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Rugby Club were there so was the man from the Guinness Premiership podcast.

With no players in sight and management gone missing (where was the Barfly?) the eager newshounds alighted on some marvellous contraptions littering the ground. Who could explain what they were?

Send for Piggy.

Suited out in a nearly new Rhino coat, David Powell rehearsed his answers to the burning questions of the day. Roll ‘em! No sooner had the immaculate Mr Powell mentioned minus nine degrees Celsius than his mobile phone rang. Cut!

Take Two: The trick is not to allow frost to get into the turf. The black mesh tarpaulins act a bit like a string vest. However, disaster struck when it snowed when the temperature was already way below zero. The snow was still being cleared from the south end of the ground as he spoke. Where the ground had succumbed to frost a tent and a warm air blower had been brought in.

Barfly arrived. The last time we lost a match to the weather was Easter (no not Mark or Nick) Saturday 2008. We had had a bit of rain. The ground was OK; unfortunately floods had cut it off from the rest of Northamptonshire.

The players were on their way. While we waited, the brains of Sky and the GP site were keen on finding alliterative puns to describe the amount of hot air Piggy’s machine was breathing on to the saintly turf. House of Commons analogies were tried and discarded. Some of the other scribes came around asking those of us with local knowledge where to find pictures of Piggy. What is Stephen Myler’s genealogy? He was a popular boy. Carlos Spencer on the bench and the best kicking statistics in the Premiership save the seemingly perpetually crocked Johnny. They wanted to find out about the young man who, despite his low profile and unfashionable club, was starting to garner himself a bit of a reputation.

BBC local radio and press arrived.

Stephen entered and said nothing in a charming, amiable sort of way. Alice gave him the Heart FM trivia test. Myler put another downer on Roger Wilson’s already miserable week by improving on his top score by one (Goodness, they are competitive about the least thing).

The throng was starting to thin when Mr Murray was summoned. My turn at last.

My researches had discovered that Eugene was announced as a Saints player on 1^st March 2007. His contract was for two years. Where better to start. Um! There has been talk in the papers that you are wanted back in Scotland. That’s the papers for ye. Has a new contract been offered? Ah! Would you like to stay? Oh, aye!

That is nice and clear, then. How did you get the nickname of Eugene? Dan Parks started it; he reckons there is a resemblance to Sergeant Tackleberry in the Police Academy series. As it is quite close to Euan, it seems to have stuck.

How does a boy from just south of Glasgow, quite possibly the most football-oriented city in the world, set about playing rugby?

There was not much rugby played in local schools but a retired former President of Scottish Schools Rugby, Tommy Robertson, took an interest in boys who were not naturals with the round ball. He got pulled together training sessions for the local primary schools and they even managed a few games as Eastwood combined schools. Williamwood High School had no rugby team but by then Euan was involved with Clarkston Rugby Football Club.

Euan is definitely a rugby player’s rugby player. When asked about his best moments playing rugby, one involved a tackle in a Scotland – All Blacks match. The other was a push-over try. They really are the best things in rugby.

Winning in Argentina last summer was quite special. It was Nacho’s last match for the Pumas and you get the feeling that the softly-spoken Murray would soon be reminded of 2007’s World Cup encounter were he to mention it too often – again, perhaps?

He has worked with some interesting characters, not least the current Scotland forwards coach, Mike Brewer. However, he singles out Dorian West as a big influence on his development as a scrummager. I informed him that it had not gone unremarked in this community.

One of the worst things you can do in the world is to keep a prop forward from his luncheon - especially with the Communications Manager fussing around trying to wind things up. So I moved on to food. Bearing in mind his fondness for the Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer, I asked the Marmite question and got a surprising answer. It was not long ago that he would not bother with the yeast extract spread at all but he is coming round. He is developing his taste for Marmite.

Coaching Tip: Whatever you do, do it is hard and as well as you can.

arw

11.01.2009