Falcons join Murray’s long list of suitors
Dec 14 2010 by Mark Smith, The Journal
NEWCASTLE Falcons have revealed they are in the race to sign Scotland and Lions prop Euan Murray.
The 30-year-old left Northampton Saints last week by mutual consent, and has been inundated with interest since the announcement. Falcons head coach Alan Tait confirmed that Newcastle were one of the clubs to have spoken to his agent, saying: “We’ve been in contact.
“He’ll have no shortage of offers because he’s a top-quality player, but we’d definitely be interested in seeing if a deal could be done.
“I know Euan well from my time at Scotland, and any club would want to have a player like that in their squad. There will be a whole stack of clubs interested though, and there’s nothing more to say at this stage other than the fact that we’re one of many to have spoken to his agent.”
One stumbling block for the Falcons would be Murray’s refusal to play on a Sunday, with the deeply religious Scot having publicly stated his intention to observe the day of rest.
Six of the Falcons’ remaining 17 games this season are already scheduled for Sundays, and with further TV dates yet to be decided that number could still rise. The club’s next three matches, in fact, are all on Sundays, starting with this weekend’s European date with Exeter.
Tait has backed his young guns to bounce back in the return encounter, having seen a much-changed side lose 36-10 at the Chiefs’ Sandy Park home last weekend.
