Edinburgh’s new second row Ollie Atkins admits forcing his way into the Scotland set-up has crossed his mind after joining from the Waratahs.
Atkins, 24, has signed the Gunners following the recent appointment of head coach Alan Solomons and he has been joined by fellow ex-Waratah Grayson Hart.
Both Hart and Atkins are Scottish qualified and may hope to follow in the footsteps of Sean Maitland, who arrived at Glasgow Warriors last season and impressed to the extent he was selected on the British & Irish Lions tour.
And he’s already gained some experience of playing against his potential RBS 6 Nations rivals.
“Playing the Lions was an amazing experience, in a packed house at Sydney Football Stadium and against quality opposition, Paul O’Connell and Alun Wyn Jones, but I thought it went reasonably well,” Atkins told the Scotsman.
“Now I’m focused on Edinburgh. I’m going to play my natural game, bring my hard work and tenacity, and hopefully that will help us to become more successful this year.
“I’m here first and foremost to play for Edinburgh. That’s why I’ve come here to play and if I can improve my way through Edinburgh and secure a starting spot here, you never know what could happen in the future. At the moment all I’m thinking about is Edinburgh.
“That [Scotland] was in the back of my mind but the aim was to come here to play for Edinburgh.”
