SHOULD the idea sit comfortably with his tactical strategies, Edinburgh Rugby coach Andy Robinson would be able field an entire team of Scottish internationalists.
The summer signings of Chris Paterson and Jim Hamilton coupled with debut caps won on tour by Ben Cairns and Matt Mustchin helps Edinburgh offset the departure of Craig Smith and takes the number of players who have worn the dark blue jersey current
ly on the books to an impressive 17.
What's more, there is now a fully qualified candidate for each specialised position, and sooner rather than later it is expected that Edinburgh will surpass last season's best effort of ten full caps in a starting line-up.
Between now and the opening friendly against London Wasps at Murrayfield, coach Robinson and his assistant Rob Moffat have six and a half weeks to settle on a team, but what is already clear, according to skipper Ally Hogg, is that there is scope for an altogether more experienced array of talent to be put on parade.
Besides the satisfaction that came from sharing in Scotland's first full Test victory in Argentina last time out, Hogg admits the icing on the cake was the heavy Edinburgh involvement.
When the final whistle sounded on the 26-14 triumph in Buenos Aires, no fewer than 11 Edinburgh players had played their part, and, in looking back to savour the potential benefits ahead, Hogg paid tribute to the newcomers.
Next up for Scotland in November is a clash with the All Blacks, and with Mustchin having been born and brought up in New Zealand (he qualified for Scotland on residency a few days before the tour) there is an obvious extra incentive for him to remain part of the set-up. As for Cairns, the message from Hogg is that, if he can maintain his current form, there is a fair chance he can expect to confront a haka on his first appearance at home. Speaking at the launch of a partnership that will see Scottish Widows Bank make a donation to a fund encouraging more state school rugby, Hogg said: "Cairnsy stepped up to the mark, no doubt about that. As for Matt he was one of the stand-out performers overall at second row. In the first Test (which Scotland lost) Ben didn't get much ball although he defended well.
"It was great he rid himself of the 'one cap' tag immediately and if he keeps on performing the way he did throughout last season, he'll end up with a lot of Scotland appearances under his belt.
"I have no doubt Ben will feature in the Autumn matches while Matt's effort in finishing top tackler in the second Test win can't be underestimated."
The Scots in the Edinburgh ranks have little time to dwell on their international exploits, as training for the 2008-09 season started on Monday.
"Really there is not a lot of time to prepare for the opening matches when you take into account the need to work on skills and bolster fitness. Day two of pre-season saw a lot of tired bodies and the effort is being put in to ensure that we carry on where we left off in the last Magners Celtic League," says Hogg.
Then, Edinburgh signed off with a 'hat-trick' of wins, but in looking to extend that streak, much interest will undoubtedly centre on who will be next to aspire to international level.
Simon Cross has got as far as being a substitute, while namesake Geoff Cross toured in Argentina without getting the call and both could be thereabouts, while the target for the likes of Alan Macdonald, Calum MacRae and Mark Robertson will be to build on what were notable performances for the A side at the Churchill Cup.
Indeed, given a suitable run, these players could ensure Edinburgh's coaches one day send out a team full of Scotland caps plus substitutes!
Question is: How to break through into a side which the club's strongest supporters will see as having qualified for the Six Nations series as well as the Celtic League and European Cup?
The next few months of rugby are sure to provide some interesting answers.
The full article contains 711 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
