WARRIORS managing director Charlie Little has revealed there is a clause in Euan Murray’s contract to extend his Sixways stay beyond this season.
The British and Irish Lions tighthead, who has made an impressive start to his Worcester career, was recruited from Newcastle Falcons following the end of his loan spell in the French Top 14 with Agen.
With fellow prop Tevita Taumoepeau seemingly unlikely to ever pull on a Warriors jersey again, Little is confident Murray, who was yesterday named in Scotland interim boss Scott Johnson’s Six Nations squad, will agree terms as the Tongan’s long-term replacement.
Little said: “Euan is a very good professional player with a huge amount of experience and he will now go off to play in the Six Nations with Scotland.
“There are details in his contract, so that we will hopefully know pretty soon if he is going to stay with us beyond the end of this season. That is the intention and that would be great.”
Little also said the club are well down the line in terms of player recruitment and is hoping for the new additions to bolster Worcester’s Heineken Cup qualification ambitions.
He explained: “The squad is about 36 players and we have to get a blend of youth and experience. As a club, our philosophy is to develop — and keep hold of — young English talent, at the same time as ensuring we have a competitive first XV.
“We are trying to create strength in depth so when we do get into the Heineken Cup, we don’t end up struggling in the Aviva Premiership because our focus is on Europe. Getting good players in and match-prepared for the Premiership, so that you can move other players up to the Heineken Cup squad, is part of our planning process.
“We are looking for now, but we are also recruiting for 2014-15 and 2015-16 for where we want to be, as well as bringing the average age of the squad down.”
Little added: “One would hope that we would be in the Heineken Cup, if not next season, then the following year, so we would want anyone thinking about coming here to be playing Heineken Cup rugby within the next two years of a contract.
“If you were to talk to someone who is in the game at another club, the noise coming out of Worcester is that it is a club where agents will go to their players and say it is a stable environment, a club that is moving forward.”
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