Steven Turnbull admits he has been using the free time he has during his inaugural pre-season as a professional with Edinburgh to watch his old school pal Andrew Murray’s progress at Wimbledon.
The promising lock graduated from the National Academy in the summer and has been putting in the hard yards as part of his preparation work ahead of his rookie season in the black and red.
But while preparing to seize centre stage he has still managed to watch fellow Dunblane native Murray perform on centre court.
Turnbull said: “I watched his first match and hopefully he will do well again this year. It is different for him because he is the British hope for tennis at the moment.
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“He has got a different kind of pressure and the expectations are a lot higher for him. But we are both professional athletes, so I suppose we go through the same kind of experiences.
“Pre-season has gone really well so far. I’ve enjoyed it, although it has been pretty tough and intense. It is good to be back at Edinburgh again with the guys.”
Last season, Turnbull suffered injury problems which restricted his appearances in competitive rugby, but he is optimistic he can steer clear of the treatment room table during the forthcoming campaign.
He said: “I feel completely injury-free at present. This is the best shape I’ve been in for a long time.
“I’ve been training for the final few months of last season and also the first few weeks of pre-season, so I feel like I’m in good shape. I’m hoping to stay injury-free for next season.”
With Jim Hamilton now on board, Turnbull acknowledges he will competing with the Scotland international, Matt Mustchin and Ben Gissing for a place in Edinburgh’s engine room next season.
But Turnbull – no relation to Edinburgh’s diminutive winger Andrew – says competition for places is healthy and enables players to improve.
He said: “For a player, it is always good to have competition for places. It is good to have guys like Jim, Chops and Ben Gissing around because you learn from these players because they have got the experience.
“There is much more of a competition element with Edinburgh and there are targets we have got to meet. It is generally a more intense environment with everyone striving for the same thing; first team rugby.”
Now Turnbull admits he is aiming to follow in the footsteps of a well-known Murray – not Andy but former Edinburgh favourite Scott.
Like the former all-time Scotland record cap holder, Turnbull represented Scotland at basketball and says he would love to follow in Murray’s footsteps by wearing the famous dark blue jersey.
He said: “I played under-16 and under-18 basketball for Scotland and I played in the European Championships twice and the Home Nations as well.
“My long term goal is to play for Scotland and Scott Murray was the highest capped international. I would like to emulate that and play for Scotland like Scott did.
“Basketball and rugby may be different sports, but the skills are very similar. The ball handling and catching rebounds is all very similar to the skills you need in rugby. I feel my old basketball skills can definitely add to my rugby game.”
