SAM Hidalgo-Clyne knows only too well how precarious life at the top of elite sport can be.
Eighteen months ago, the 23-year-old was being widely touted as one of the most exciting prospects in Scottish rugby – a scrum-half with the pace and courage to swing the momentum of a match in a nanosecond. Then, by the start of the current season, he seemed to have dropped to third choice in the pecking order at Edinburgh, with the inevitable knock-on effect on his international aspirations.
In the meantime, Ali Price has emerged in recent months as a player of international pedigree. With Greig Laidlaw out for the remainder of this Six Nations campaign, the Glasgow Warriors man has grabbed his opportunity with both hands – but Hidalgo-Clyne reckons he is getting close to his best and has his sights firmly set on adding to his current international haul of nine caps (the last of which was picked up as a 77th minute replacement during last year’s Six Nations match in Cardiff).
“You always want to get back into the Scotland set-up. You watch that fantastic result against Wales at the weekend and you want to be part of that because you know the players there, you train with half of them through the week, and you believe you can do your bit to help the squad,” he said.
“I can only do what I can do and then it is down to the coaches. I feel like I am playing well again. I’m now getting some good game-time under my belt – I got 80 minutes at the weekend, which was fantastic – and I was 24th man for the Scotland game, so things are moving in the right direction. It is just about keeping fit and playing well for Edinburgh, and seeing where that takes me.”
“There was a spell when I wasn’t playing a huge amount at all, which was frustrating – but working with Duncan Hodge at Edinburgh during the last few months has been really positive. I’ve been able to work on those things that are going to win games and get me to where I want to be.”
“The big thing was I put a lot of focus onto my passing, I worked really hard at that for a long time, and nearly forgot abort my running game – which had always been my strength. So now that I have got my passing game up to scratch – it is pretty good – I’m able to focus back on becoming a threat myself again rather than just looking for other people to give the ball to.”
Hidalgo-Clyne has not been helped by an overall stupor at Edinburgh this season as far as league form is concerned, but he believes that reaching the quarter-final stage of the European Challenge Cup, where they will play La Rochelle at home at the end of March, can provide a focus for the team to build towards.
“That’s so important for us. It really is frustrating that we are not doing well in the Pro12 this year but we’ve just got to take each game as it comes and try to build a bit of momentum,” he said.
The Ospreys provide the opposition at Myreside on Friday night. It is a tricky assignment against a team which got the better of Glasgow Warriors last week.
“We know we can win these games but actions speak louder than words,” he said.
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