Rugby Shorts
Scott Murray is one of Scotland’s all time great players, at one point the record caps holder, but on this day in rugby history in 2006 he hit his Scottish low when he became only the second Scottish player sent off in an international match.
The incident occurred in a match between Scotland and Wales at the Millennium Stadium when Murray lashed out at Ian Gough after a late tackle. Many pundits at the time thought the judgement by referee Steve Walsh was harsh. It was the turning point in the match with Scotland down 3-7 and ultimately losing 28-18.
Murray had been the hero the previous week and immediately apologies for the inadvertent kick. Even Gough felt bad for the player saying; "I feel sorry for Scott, I mistimed a tackle on him from behind as I didn't see the ball had gone. He just lashed out as a reaction, something we've all done in the past, but his boot caught me in the head. Scott's a great competitor, I've had lots of tough battles with him and it's a shame he had to go off."
Scotland coach Frank Hadden agreed, adding; "It looked pretty accidental. Scott was trying to get out of the tackle situation as quickly as he could and flicked out his foot. He wasn't looking in Ian Gough's direction at the time, so I think it's going to be a difficult one to judge."
Murray was handed a three match ban which kept him from playing in that year’s Calcutta Cup match.
The first Scottish player to be sent off was Nathan Hines.
Rugby Birthdays
1976 - Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby union footballer
1978 - Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby league footballer
