EDINBURGH backs' coach Rob Moffat has thrown out a challenge to rookie full back Jim Thompson as Scotland star Hugo Southwell prepares to bid farewell to the Capital rugby outfit and move to Paris-based Stade Francais.
While acknowledging that 48 times capped Southwell will be a big loss – "he has played his best rugby for Edinburgh this season and must have been in Lions contention at one stage" argued Moffat – it is very much a case of as one door closes another
opens.
And, in this instance, that will mean it will soon be time for 24-year-old Thompson to pile the pressure on Edinburgh's first-choice full back Chris Paterson.
"The problem with having two experienced players like Hugo and Chris is that Jim hardly got a chance (four games so far). The ideal scenario is to have an experienced player and an up-and-coming competing for the place which is what we'll have next season," said Moffat.
With Edinburgh still to name their substitutes for Saturday afternoon's home Celtic League match with Newport Gwent Dragons – their final match of 2008-09 is away to Cardiff a week later – there must be a temptation to look to the future by including Thompson for the first time since the trip to Munster six matches ago.
But, at the same time, it would surely be wrong to neglect Southwell's talents, which will be needed if Edinburgh are to succeed in a quest for second place behind already crowned champions, Munster.
Hinting that Southwell would fill the same stand-by role he occupied for the 32-30 win at Ospreys last time out, Moffat added: "It is hard to be positive when somebody is leaving the club. But Hugo is a better player for his time at Edinburgh. He leaves the club on perfect terms.
"At the moment he has 48 caps and I'm sure he will achieve his half century although being based abroad won't be without its problems. My understanding is that things can sometimes be irrational in places like France where things can happen on the whim of the president.
"But at the age of 29 coming up, (May 14) he sees a chance to change his environment and the good thing for Scotland is that he has two or three good years still ahead of him."
For Southwell there is strong motivation in wanting to sign off his Capital career with a bang.
"I'm massively looking forward to a new challenge but it has been a hard decision," he said.
Signed from Worcester back in 2003 with his first time in a Capital shirt coming as a replacement for the visit to Connacht that season, Southwell said: "I've had six of the best years of my life here.
"I didn't actually go out and look for another club but Stade Francais were in the market and the opportunity seemed right with their present full back retiring."
Acknowledging the rivalry between himself and Chris Paterson as a key factor in his development as a player, Southwell added: "For much of my time at Edinburgh Chris was on the wing and I was at full back but in the past season I like to think we have raised the bar for each other in a friendly way competing against each other.
"There are two games left of the present season and after that great win at Ospreys I want to help Edinburgh finish as high as possible.
"In the long term who knows where I will play rugby but I do regard Edinburgh as home and intend to return here to live," said the man whose Edinburgh career has spanned 114 appearances so far contributing 107 points and who could well add to international honours in the Autumn when it has just been confirmed that Fiji, Australia and Argentina will be the November visitors to Murrayfield.
