Euan Murray Training Diary

Euan Murray, the 26-year-old qualified veterinary surgeon, is the man in whom Scotland's coaches are investing their faith as the cornerstone of the Scotland pack.

At nearly 19 stone, Euan, a tight-head prop with Glasgow Warriors, is a vital component if Scotland's forwards are to provide a winning platform in scrum, lineout and loose play.

Murray is very much the antithesis of the stereotypical props of yesteryear. There's no beer belly, just power and muscle, therefore diet and training are important elements in his routine.

Here, Euan takes us through a typical day's training and refuelling when he's in camp with Scotland.

"Breakfast is an important meal for me. I'll usually have four or five Weetabix with full cream milk and a banana. I'll also aim to drink a litre of water.

"During a Scotland Test match week we'll probably do a weights session on a Monday morning preceded by video analysis or a debrief from the previous week. We also get assessed medically.

"I tend to do some hydrotherapy, one minute of a hot bath, one minute of a cold bath, for about 20 minutes in total, then into the weights for about one hour.

"During weights I'll probably drink another 500 millilitres of water with some protein supplement and when I finish weights I'll do the same again. It's important to make sure you take on board plenty of water.

"At lunch I'll go for potatoes, fish, vegetables and a bowl of pasta. There is always Baxters soup available as well. I usually have about half an hour's break after lunch before coming down to the training area and getting strapped for training. This will be a rugby session which will last about 90 minutes and during the session there will be breaks to take water or a sports drink.

"At the end of training, I'll shower then have a protein shake, some filled rolls and a couple of baked potatoes with tuna and cheese. We can have more soup at snack time as well which is great as a healthy filler.

"Then it's off to the team hotel where I'll try to get to the toaster before my fellow prop Gav Kerr and have a couple of slices of toast.

"Dinner is usually about 7.30pm though at home I can sometimes eat a wee bit later. I tend to go for rice, lamb and vegetables and if I have a starter it will be something like tomatoes and Parma ham. I don't tend to bother with sweets.

"At home if I need a wee snack I'll pick from a massive tray of Baxters soup, about 20 different varieties that I bought, and that always keeps me going.