Scotland: Northampton’s Rory Hutchinson is ready to seize his opportunity

It’s been a long road to get to this point. Hutchinson made his Scotland debut in 2019, and despite establishing himself as one of the best centre-forwards in the Premier League, he has found it difficult to beat Townsend.

Although Tuipulotu and Jones toured with the British and Irish Lions in the summer, Northampton Saint, who had just started their European Champions Cup final, were still left out in the initial squad for Scotland’s summer tour.

An injury to Edinburgh’s Matt Currie led to Hutchinson being called up just before leaving the group, and determined to make the most of his opportunity, he started in wins over New Zealand Maori and Samoa, scoring in the latter.

Hutchinson has given a taste of more excitement in a Scotland shirt after years of frustration with the national team.

He was selected for some teams but not others, often traveling to Edinburgh and training for matches in which he was never likely to feature.

“Talking to quite a few kids who don’t live in Scotland, the exile guys, I don’t think people realize it’s really difficult to travel here on a Sunday,” Hutchinson said.

“Even though they seem like short trips, when you do it six times in an out-and-back drive, it takes a toll on your body.

“You’re missing out on all the preparation work to get back to your club. So you’re literally firing up on Thursday, which will be my day off from the club’s training day, running your squad and then being asked to play as best you can.

“When you do that every week, it takes its toll and I think that’s what I’ve found.

“And for me, it was like, how do I stop doing this and how do I really try to make my way onto the team?”