EDINBURGH RUGBY coach Alan Solomons today tipped 21-year-old scrum half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne for a Scotland debut in the RBS Six Nations Championship after his record 28 points helped defeat Bordeaux Begles 38-20 at BT Murrayfield.
It was the biggest individual haul ever by an Edinburgh player in a European tie – surpassing the 23 scored in the past by both Greig Laidlaw and Brendan Laney.
Putting the win, which guarantees a place in the knockout stages of the European Challenge Cup, in perspective, Bordeaux Begles currently lie fifth in France’s prestigious Top 14 competition.
Solomons said of two-try Hidalgo-Clyne, who also kicked 18 points: ”Sam is an absolutely outstanding player. He is genetically gifted as well.
“He has everything and is electric around the field. It is a racing certainty he will play for Scotland.
“For a lad who has come to scrum half late in life he has just been fantastic. I would not be suprised to see him get a run in the Six Nations coming off the bench.
“He has a lot of versatility and has had a stunning season, as has Ben Toolis.
“Sam is very, very fiesty as he showed when he scored a try by ripping the ball away.”
Edinburgh have to wait to see how rivals fare to see if they will get a home quarter-final.
Regardless, Solomons said: “It is a job done. We had to win the game and it was big last effort before we go on a break
“To come away with a bonus point was really good,
“We would love a home tie and it is so disappointing we didn’t get points against Lyon as we had that game won with six minutes to go.
“But we had a reasonably tough pool. To come through and win five our of six is pretty good.
“A total of 22 points is pretty decent.
“The scrum was a major factor and, when you get dominance like that at scrum time, that is a major help,”
Hidalgo-Clyne shared credit with the forwards, saying: “We did not get too much attacking opportunity from backs tonight and it was more forward-orientated but it was a fantastic game to play in.”