IS THIS MAN THE ANSWER TO SCOTLAND'S NO 8 PROBLEM?

FOR TWO years Gregor Townsend has searched for a solution for his problem at No 8. He’s had his six sorted for a while – Jamie Ritchie is the undisputed one at blindside – and he’s just as well off at seven, where Hamish Watson is as immovable from the team as he is when crouched over ball at a breakdown. The guy between them, though? It’s been a long road, put it that way.

This time two years ago, Ryan Wilson was the man. Then it was Josh Strauss, then Magnus Bradbury, then Blade Thomson, with a little bit of Gary Graham thrown in from the bench. Five different players wore the shirt in 2019 and three more in 2020 – Nick Haining, Cornel du Preez and Matt Fagerson – bringing the grand total of No 8s to, well, eight.

In his hunt for somebody to nail down the position, somebody who could bring their own version of a rampaging Billy or