To the casual observer, they may see Liam Murray make a big run down the rugby pitch and then make his way over to the sideline, out of breath. And they may question his fitness level or wonder why he is winded. Or why he sounds like —in his description — a pterodactyl.
But the root of all of this is that the Langley teen has exercise-induced asthma.
“It is kind of funny, I will go on a big run and have to go over to the sideline, gasping for air,” Murray explained.
“I will play as hard as I can and literally, I can’t breath.
“It is like I am breathing through a straw.”
But despite this obstacle, it has not prevented Murray from excelling on the rugby field.
Murray returned last week (Oct. 14 to 18) from Shawnigan Lake where he attended a Rugby Canada U18 evaluation camp.
The 18-year-old — he celebrated his birthday on the rugby pitch Oct. 17 — was one of 52 players from across the country who were at the camp.
And while going up against the best of the best for his age group may be intimidating for some, Murray did not have that problem as he is accustomed to playing against men, some of whom are twice his age.
Murray plays his club rugby with the Langley Rugby Club’s First Division side.
“It is a lot more intense, that’s for sure,” he said about facing men.
“But it also helps you going into high rep rugby.”
Rugby has always been the goal since Murray watched his older brother first play the sport.
He did some judo when he was younger, but when the family moved to Langley in Grade 5, Murray joined the LRC minis program.
He also wrestled with the Langley United Wrestling Club during his high school days at Brookswood Secondary — he graduated back in June — but rugby was always the sport for him.
“Rugby has always been the one,” Murray explained.
“I love the team aspect, you rely on each other.
“And I love the physicality.”
And physicality is no problem for Murray, who already stands six-foot-two and weighs 250 pounds.
“His strength and athleticism are pretty elite,” said Rob Hayes, who has coached Murray throughout the ranks of the Langley Rugby Club.
“Liam is quite built for an 18-year-old.”
This is Murray’s first year playing at the men’s level. Typically, most young players that age tend to start at the Second Division level until they are ready to make the move up to the top division.
“He played one Second Division game and was man of the match,” Hayes said.
“He really stood out so we moved him up to the First Division and hasn’t looked out of place.”
Murray typically plays 8-man for Langley but was in the tighthead prop position at the camp.
“Liam is extremely strong, he is extremely powerful and he has a great attitude,” said Dean Murten, the performance development manager for BC Rugby and also the head coach of Canada’s national U18 program.
“What most impressed me was that he is playing in a position that is very, very technical. And he has just worked extremely hard at that. He still has a long way to go to keep improving and being a world class player.”
Murray also surprised the coach.
“Because he is so big and powerful, you don’t expect his vision and his handling to be good,” he explained.
“During the final game (at the camp) this ball bounced off the post and he caught it and started running. I actually said to the coach next to me ‘just watch this, I would put $1 million on it that he doesn’t pass it here, he just hits the contact and that’s it.’
“(But) he took the ball at real pace and he got his vision going, he knew what was going on and he passed the ball outside and they ended up scoring from it.
“That to me really showed that he is becoming more of an all-around player.”
For someone of Murray’s size and physical stature, the thinking may be that he can overpower his opponent.
“And that’s OK at a certain level, but when you want to be a world class player, you need to be able to see what is going on, you need to be able to have more than just power and strength. He proved me wrong.”
“He is really developing and we are happy with him.”
Murray actually missed the majority of the first two days of camp with a charley horse.
But once he returned for the final two days, he was happy with his play.
“I thought it went pretty well,” he said.
Now comes the waiting game.
Rugby Canada will hold two camps in January — one in western Canada, the other in the east — before settling on a final 26-player team which will do a spring tour to somewhere in Europe.
Murten expects to start extending invitations in the coming weeks.
“I have been going after this since I started playing rep rugby, which was in Grade 9,” Murray said.
“That is my goal, to one day make the national team.”
pj Carr
Langley’s Liam Murray played for Fraser Valley East U18 team in July at the provincial regional championships in Burnaby. The 18-year-old has continued to impress, earning an invitation to Rugby Canada’s U18 camp in Shawnigan Lake earlier this month.
