SATURDAY’S 1872 Cup match between Glasgow and Edinburgh is not only the last PRO12 fixture of the season for both teams, it is also the closest thing Scottish rugby now has to the old Blues versus Whites national trial. The fixture at Christmas was ideally placed to give Vern Cotter a look at his home-based players in the run-up to the Six Nations, and this weekend’s game comes at a perfect time for Gregor Townsend as he finalises his squad, to be announced next week, for the summer tour to Singapore, Australia and Fiji.
Having lost 25-12 at Murrayfield on Boxing Day, Edinburgh know they have to go on the offensive to have a chance of retaining the trophy they have won for the past two years. It may be a high-risk strategy against opponents whose main strengths include counter-attacking from deep, but for the likes of Damien Hoyland, it is an approach which provides the best chance of making a strong case for national recognition.
“It’s a big game for everybody,” the 23-year-old winger said. “The squad has not been announced. Those wanting to put their foot in the door for the tour will know they have a big game this weekend. They’ll want to get Gregor Townsend’s eyes and ears and put their hand up for tour selection.”
Summer has been a profitable time for Hoyland in his brief international career so far. He made his debut two years ago in the World Cup warm-up game in Turin, then won his second and so far last cap when he started against Japan last year. He knows that Tommy Seymour’s selection for the Lions moves every other winger one notch up the Scotland pecking order, but is also aware that Glasgow’s superior form over the past few years has led to their having a far bigger number of Scotland places than Edinburgh “It’s awesome him being picked for the Lions and opens up a spot on the tour, but if you look at all the wings on form there’s a pretty big list,” he said of Seymour. “Tommy, Rory Hughes, Lee Jones and a couple of boys down south – Tim Visser and Sean Maitland. There’s still a lot of competition, so it’s never going to be easy to get in and get Tommy’s spot.
“Look at the quality Glasgow have. These guys have been in the mix in the past.
“Gregor’s a good coach and will be looking at all Scotland-qualified players regardless of how fixtures have been going. He will be looking at individuals and how they’ll perform. I don’t think our form of the past 12 games will have much of an influence. Doesn’t matter if we won or lost – he’ll just be looking at the guys in form.”
Perhaps the trickiest thing for Townsend, when it comes to assessing Edinburgh players such as Hoyland, will be to determine the extent to which their form may have been adversely affected by the capital side’s poor run of results this year. And, by the same token, to work out how well they can raise their game in more propitious circumstances Meanwhile, former Glasgow and Scotland prop Ryan Grant is one of 18 players to have been released by Worcester Warriors. The 31-year-old, who toured with the Lions in 2013 only left Scotstoun to join the English Premiership side in January, having lost his place in the Glasgow starting line-up.
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