Scotland need a spark. Their wooden spoon performance in the 6 Nations will not be sitting well with their fans, and certainly a performance like that in the World Cup would see heads begin to roll. One of the players receiving plenty of criticism following the tournament was Captain Greig Laidlaw, and the scrumhalf now has some stiff competition in the form of Edinburgh’s Sam Hidalgo-Clyne.
Born in Spain, Hidalgo-Clyne was originally a fly half before moving into the number 9 shirt. The Macphail Scholarship winner has been in outstanding form this season for Edinburgh, which has seen him become a regular option off the bench for his country. A scrumhalf of the Eoin Reddan mold, Hidalgo-Clyne is small, quick around the fringes, and loves to up the tempo of the match.
Of course convincing a head coach to replace the starting scrumhalf, who also happens to be the goalkicker and the captain will never be easy, but Hidalgo-Clyne is a very good candidate. He has been in electric form this season, terrorizing defences and racking up the points. The Guinness Pro12 Young Player of the Season would offer Scotland coach with the high paced attack that he has been looking for.
Certainly Hidalgo-Clynes style of play matches that of current Scotland 10, Finn Russell. One example of this would be the Challenge Cup match between Edinburgh and Newport Gwent Dragons, in which Clyne ran for 103 meters, a try, two try assists, finishing his day with 25 points.
Hidalgo-Clyne is very much the centerpiece of the Edinburgh team, and he is more than ready to make the step up to the international level. In all of his appearances for Scotland, he has looked calm and assured, and his kicking has been among the most consistent in the Pro12 this season.
That said, Greig Laidlaw seems to be the favorite of Scotland coach Vern Cotter, and lets not forget that Laidlaw has been kicking very well for the Scots since taking on the responsibility. It’s also worth mentioning that Laidlaw looked very good probing the edges for Gloucester against Edinburgh and Exeter in the Challenge Cup, both matches his side won.
Hidalgo Clyne is a very promising youngster, but like Reddan, his explosive style of play may limit him. With a game controlling scrumhalf in Conor Murray, Ireland are content to leave the explosive Reddan on the bench, and Joe Schmidt’s mate Vern Cotter may do the same with Hidalgo Clyne.