3/2/05 - Murphy called up to face the Tykes

The former Headingley second row forward is pencilled in to start for Worcester in tomorrow night's Premiership clash at Sixways after Tim Collier lost his race to be fit.

Collier is still suffering from a pectoral muscle injury and is named on the bench for the vital relegation clash.

That gives Murphy the chance to face the club he left in the summer and play against brother Chris who is a pivotal part of the Tykes pack.

"Phil will relish the game, the chance to play against his brother and his old club," said Worcester's director of rugby John Brain.

"We felt we had to go with Phil who is 100 per cent fit rather than with Tim who isn't. Tim understands that and he knows it's in the best interests of the team."

Leeds lie ninth in the Premiership table, four points ahead of Worcester, but victory for the Sixways side will plunge Phil Davies' team back into the relegation dog-fight along with Harlequins and Northampton.

"A win will pull us away from Harlequins at the bottom, at least before they play Gloucester," said Worcester head coach Andy Keast.

"It's about accumulating points now for us. Every game is a big one because we have an opportunity to take four or five points."

And Brain is hoping that the 'Sixways factor' will play a part in the Leeds clash. "Tomorrow there will be 8,500 people in the ground and about 50 from Leeds," he said.

"That's got to give you a lift as a player.

"The atmosphere at Worcester on a Friday night is special and we saw that against Wasps when we beat them at Sixways."

Ben Hinshelwood misses out because of international duty with Scotland, while Clive Stuart-Smith is recalled to the 22, against his old club, in place of fellow scrum-half Neil Cole for "tactical reasons".

Worcester: Delport; Pieters, Rasmussen, Lombard, O'Leary; Brown, Powell; Windo, Van Niekerk, Horsman, Murphy, Gillies, Hickey, Sanderson, MacLeod-Henderson. Replacements: Fortey, Hall, Collier, Mason, Stuart-Smith, Hayes, Trueman.