Euan Murray - Decision of conscience is a personal one and not for anyone to criticise

Published on Wednesday 16 December 2009 22:14

THERE is little doubt Scotland will miss Euan Murray at the start of an exciting RBS Six Nations Championship for Andy Robinson's team next year, but the confirmation this week that he will not play on a Sunday is something the players have to accept.

Euan has earned a lot of respect in the game and a decision like that is a very personal one; his to make alone and not for anyone to criticise. When I played at Glasgow he was a talented player making his presence felt in the pro game, but he felt he needed a change.

Change comes in all shapes and sizes for a professional sportsman, and sometimes changes work and sometimes they don't, but we all have to find improvement, and although many are frightened of it change can bring that. I have to say turning to the Bible is perhaps not the most obvious route most rugby players take, but Euan wasn't as happy as he felt he could be then and he found a way to improve his life through religion.

Robinson said this week that international rugby comes with sacrifices and that is definitely a part of playing for your country that is never very obvious to the supporter. There are many sacrifices a player has to make to get there in the first place, in a social context, with relationships and in terms of fitness, and there are usually more over the course of an international career as you try to stay ahead of the competition and keep a place in the squad. There is nothing like representing your country on the world stage and having got there I have never met anyone who wanted it to end, whatever it took to stay there.

Euan knows that his place is not guaranteed and that by not being available for the opening match against France – whether or not he was going to start anyway – he is leaving the door open for good young props Moray Low and Geoff Cross, who have, in 2009, been given that first taste of international rugby. He will know how determined they will feel at the prospect of starting a Six Nations for the first time.

But that just shows how much this decision is about him. I know Euan quite well and his faith has grown stronger in the last year or two, but so has his desire to play for Scotland and to win with Scotland. He wants to get back into the Scotland front row and the fact he has had to come through injury that wrecked hopes of a Lions Test jersey and now has the obstacle of his faith to overcome will probably only make him a stronger character when he does return.

I HAVE to admit I was disappointed with the Heineken Cup for Scottish teams at the weekend because it should have been two from two. I expected Glasgow to beat Gloucester at home and the guys showed how good and confident they are becoming as a team and also exposed Gloucester's problems with confidence right now.

Scottish teams have always found English sides hard to beat and when the two go head-to-head at full-strength with confidence levels high in both you'd back the English side more often than not because of the relative resources. But you rarely get two teams at full-strength and full of confidence, which is why Scottish sides have been capable of pulling off wins more often than they have.

For that reason, Sunday at the Rec was another missed chance for Edinburgh. I knew they could win there and I think the players believed it as well, but they let themselves down with some poor skills and decisions at crucial times. In the intensity of the Heineken Cup mistakes get magnified. It's a learning process, but the Edinburgh boys have discovered this year how much more enjoyable it is learning lessons off the back of wins.

Edinburgh will beat Bath this week at Murrayfield, though, and any fans who haven't got tickets should get them because I expect a cracking European game the way these sides play. That said, I think Edinburgh's chances of reaching the quarter-finals are gone, even though Ulster's win over Stade Francais has kept it tight, but three wins from three, with Stade also at home, would make it interesting.

Now we have the new prize to aim for of a place in the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals and if they can both win their remaining games they have a real chance of making that. It comes back to consistency and that is what Glasgow will be seeking this weekend – it will be tough at Kingsholm but they will turn a corner if they win on Sunday.

Kenny Logan is a Heineken ambassador. Heineken are proud to be celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Heineken Cup and title sponsor since its inception in 1995. www.heinekenrugby.co.uk