Glasgow Head coach Franco Smith believes Murphy Walker needs to play a number of games for the Warriors before he is deemed ready to bolster Scotland’s resources.
The 26-year-old won his first international caps in November 2022 after just eight senior appearances for his club and was seen as the likely long-term successor to team-mate Zander Fagerson.
But a string of serious injuries over the past four years – including hamstring, neck, calf and knee problems – has severely disrupted his progress.
In Smith’s four previous seasons at Scotstoun, Murphy was restricted to just 16 games for Glasgow – while also winning six Scotland caps, last in November 2025.
He has not played a competitive game since the end of February, one of six appearances last season, but has nevertheless been called up to Scotland’s training squad for the final two rounds of the Six Nations.
Having come through pre-season in good form and with Fagerson unlikely to be available until Glasgow open their European Champions Cup campaign in Sale in mid-October, Walker has the opportunity to reaffirm his credentials in the first three rounds of URC matches, starting with Saturday’s date with Munster in Thomond Park.
“Look, he’s played international rugby so he’s recognized – I think he’s got more international games than he has for the club!” – threw Smith.
“But now the most important ingredient is for him to play well, to enjoy what’s going on but not to put any expectations on his current position. He’s in a situation where extra expectations – things that will distract him from what he can control – could lead to him not getting back the rugby time he’s missed.
“He missed a lot of time on the field, even though he trained very hard. He has to play now. I’m not saying he has to play always, but he didn’t play often enough. Does it affect his recovery on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, to come back for the next game, to make sure he gets continuity and from the main game to learn the lessons from the previous game, redi learned the lessons from the previous game.
“We’d like to see him get some continuity. For now, that should be his goal – to stay fit, learn to recover and have the ability to play back-to-back weeks. Then maybe there will be another discussion. But for now, I don’t think he has to look beyond next week.”
“That enthusiasm hasn’t gone away; he’s training well again. He’s been unlucky with injuries, but he’s stuck to the task. Murphy’s willingness to fight through disappointment and keep working hard, away from the team, is something that stands out.”
While Walker, who turns 27 next month, looks to reignite his stop-start Limerick career, versatile full-back Jamie Dobie will play his 100th game for the club aged just 25.
The former fly-half will start the season on the left wing, where he also started four tests for Scotland last season either side of a shoulder injury that required surgery, after making his debut for Glasgow as an 18-year-old in September 2019 against Cheetahs a side then coached by Smith.
“He’s an impressive person and an impressive man,” Smith said of Dobie, who also has 22 caps for Scotland. “He’s actually a true warrior from a physical perspective. He meets all the criteria here from a physical development standpoint.
“He’s still young to play 100 games and he’s quite injured. We all hoped he’d play his 100th game in the (URC) final last year but it didn’t work out that way. But I’m glad he’ll get his chance now tomorrow.
“He’s a fantastic player, a great person to have in the team. It doesn’t matter what number he has on his back, he always contributes. He’s very positive in training, he’s a big influence at the club and he’s a very good example for the young players coming up, having walked the development path at Glasgow Warriors.”
Like Fagerson, Smith is also hopeful that captain Kyle Steyn will return from a foot injury in time for the start of the Champions Cup next month, while he hopes new signing Jamie Ritchie will recover from an ankle problem in time to make his Warriors debut before the Nations Cup break in November.
Second-row Alex Samuel, who enjoyed an outstanding season last season before suffering a knee injury on Scotland duty in July that required surgery, will be sidelined “until at least the November internationals”, Smith reported, but Scotland’s other player, Alex Craig, could return “within the next couple of weeks” after tearing a tendon in his foot sustained in March.
Smith was a little more cautious about bringing Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu into contention at the start of a 12-month spell that, fitness permitting, should end with him leading Scotland to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
“He will play an important role for both club and country this year,” Smith said. “Not only that, but it means we’ll be without him for a while.
“So Ollie (Smith) and Stafford (McDowall) and Bayley Kuenzle and the two young guys (Kerr Yule and Johnny Ventisei) also have to learn to take over when he’s not available. It also gives us an opportunity to get the next guys up when he’s not there.”
Despite losing half a dozen internationals over the summer, including Jack Dempsey, Huw Jones and Adam Hastings, Smith believes Glasgow can continue to overcome the loss of key players to remain URC contenders, having won the title in 2024 and reached the semi-finals in the past two seasons.
“We won it in (Smith’s) second (major) season,” he noted. “Nobody thought at the start of that season we would win it. Nobody thought we would play in the (European) Challenge Cup final in the first season. Nobody thought we would top the table last year after losing two games in South Africa.
“We played so well that in the third year we were at the top of all statistics and unfortunately we lost to them Leinster twice in both competitions. Well of course we’ll try… it’s always a mission.
“I think everyone knows we’re determined to be the best version of ourselves. We know what we have to do and that’s what we’re focusing on, not the outcome at the moment.
“There is not one easy game in this competition. It is the sixth year of the URC and we are not aware of the fact that all the teams would like to be at the top of the table. We have been there and we will have a target on our back, I have no doubt about that. So we know what awaits us, but for now we focus on getting our process going, we focus on focusing on the game for the most part in one competition.”
