Scotland prop Euan Murray could feature for his club Northampton next weekend as he looks to regain match fitness.
Club duty beckons for Scotland prop
Scotland prop Euan Murray could feature for his club Northampton next weekend as he looks to regain match fitness.
Murray recovered from a rib injury to make his first appearance of the RBS Six Nations in the 26-6 win over Italy.
The 28-year-old made his initial comeback in Northampton's 9-5 defeat to Wasps on February 28 and is keen to play in the Saints' trip to Worcester on March 7 - a free weekend in the Six Nations schedule.
Scotland's front-row resources are depleted following the news that Allan Jacobsen requires shoulder surgery, but head coach Frank Hadden is powerless to prevent Murray turning out in the Guinness Premiership ahead of the visit of Ireland to Murrayfield on March 14.
"I was exhausted!" Murray said of his exertions against Italy before confirming stitches around his right eye were not of serious concern.
"The three weeks or so that I missed obviously had an impact on my match fitness.
Regular action
"A front-five player needs to be playing regularly and there's no better preparation for a front-five player than the Premiership."
Hadden was happy to see Murray play 80 minutes for his club the weekend before last but will be in two minds whether it is worth the risk on Saturday.
The same applies to Alasdair Dickinson, who is the likely replacement for Jacobsen against Ireland should Geoff Cross fail to recover from the head knock he sustained against Wales just over three weeks ago.
Dickinson could easily play some part in Gloucester's Premiership match at Leicester on Saturday and Hadden cannot afford to lose either him or Murray for the Ireland fixture.
With Scotland suffering defeat in their opening two Six Nations matches in Murray's absence, the Saints star was touted as something of a saviour in the build-up to the Italy encounter.
"There was some extra pressure but you just deal with pressure," he admitted afterwards, insisting it had not affected his preparation.
Team ethic
"I prepare the same way as I prepare for any game. We all have our role to play and we stuck together.
"It was our aim to work together and work hard with a common goal and we felt we did that.
"We always expected a very physical contest against big, strong forwards and I was pleased with how we dealt with things.
"I thought our set-piece went well and I thought there were a lot of positives to be taken out of the game.
"There are still things to work on. We can cut out some of the penalties we gave away early on in the second half.
"But I thought it was a good performance. We're obviously delighted to win by 20 points. That's very encouraging.
"We're happy to get a win in the Six Nations and hopefully we can build on that."
