Dropped for the second Test in New Zealand on his last Scotland tour, moving to top English club Leicester immediately upon his return, has hardly provided Craig Joiner with the platform he sought in attempting to re-establish himself.

A regular in the Scotland side before, during, and after the 1995 World Cup, prior to that first major setback, he had anticipated taking his game on to new levels in the English Premiership. Instead, in international terms, he initially went backwards.

Plagued by injury, he has found it difficult to command a place in the side at Welford Road, the arrival, shortly after he joined the club, of Australia's 1991 World Cup winning coach Bob Dwyer not proving as much of a boon as might have been expected by a young back still learning his trade.

''I don't think he was a massive fan of mine. He was last year, but this year not so much so. I played about 23 or 24 games for the club this season and 12 of those have been in the last three months which shows how short of match practise I was earlier in the season,'' Joiner noted.

It is consequently understandable, then, that he seems less than heartbroken at Dwyer's sacking earlier this year in favour of Leicester folk hero Dean Richards.

''I think the change of coach has helped me,'' the winger said. '' All I needed was the opportunity to improve myself and I got that.''

That he hadn't had much of a run of games in the early part of this season meant he was ill- prepared when a Scotland recall arrived during the season, albeit he had the dubious distinction of being one of the few to emerge with decent reviews after the 68-10 defeat by the Springboks.

''I think I had a reasonable game against South Africa and it was a game of all-sorts against Italy when no-one performed well. Then, against Ireland, I came off injured after about 10 minutes, so I am fairly short of inter-national rugby of late,'' he said.

As well as a shortage of games, Joiner also found his position being frequently switched by Dwyer, but he is grateful for that.

''Last year I played a lot at centre and was glad of that because it makes you aware of other parts of the game and, in particular, improves your hands.

''But this year I've played primarily on the wing,'' he explained. ''In the past three months I've played every game for Leicester and my confidence has built up. I've found some good form, scored a number of tries in the league, and feel I've got the confidence back that I may have lacked earlier in the year.''

In other words, at a time when his contract is up for renewal, he is in the right frame of mind to seize the chances that are beginning to come his way again.

''I had a golden opportunity when I was called into the touring party (to replace Kenny Logan) not having been picked initially.

''Some might say it's a bonus just to be on tour, but I saw it as an opportunity to get back into the Test side, not just to be a number in the tour party.

He missed out on selection for the Test in Fiji, which may, on reflection, have been a bonus for a winger, but he has caught the eye of the management at the right time, despite picking up a calf strain on his only appearance on tour so far, against Victoria last week.

''My selection to meet New South Wales came out of the blue,'' he said. ''But this will be one of the hardest games we play here. I'm not necessarily looking to this as meaning I'm provisionally in a Test team. They may just be giving me a chance.''

Nonetheless, his selection suggests that he is in pole position for a wing berth against the Wallabies the following week.