'Everyone I've spoken to says this kid is going to be something special'

Five new faces were part of the 45-man Scotland contingent that convened this week ahead of their Autumn Nations Series, nothing out of the ordinary.

Glasgow Warriors’ Alex Samuel and Tom Jordan, and Edinburgh’s Ben Muncaster, Mosese Tuipulotu and Freddy Douglas make the quintet, although there is an asterisk next to the latter’s name. While the 19-year-old Douglas is indeed part of the Edinburgh set-up, he is in the bizarre position of having not actually played a game for the club yet.

That did not deter Gregor Townsend from selecting him though, who said after naming his squad that the young openside has shown with Edinburgh A and Scotland U20, who he helped win the World Rugby U20 Trophy at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh in July, that “he has the skills and mindset that can thrive in our environment”.

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Townsend would have also been very much aware of the reputation that precedes this precocious talent, one that has been “heard going around the tunnels of Murrayfield,” according to former Scotland captain John Barclay.

Barclay, who wore the Scotland and Edinburgh No 7 jersey that Douglas is aspiring to wear, recently confessed when speaking to RugbyPass that, while he understandably does not know too much about Douglas, what he has heard has been very promising.

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“Not a lot, to be honest, not a lot,” TNT Sports pundit Barclay said when asked how much he knows about the teenager. “Other than the fact that everyone I have spoken to for the last number of years, that’s the name I’ve heard going around the tunnels of Murrayfield, that this kid coming through’s going to be a serious player. He’s not played for Edinburgh, but everyone I’ve spoken to in passing says this kid is going to be something special.”

With Scotland hosting Fiji, world champions South Africa, Portugal and Australia in November, as well as an ‘A’ fixture against Chile on November 23, there are opportunities to see how Douglas fares in the blue of Scotland.

The chances of seeing the Scotland U20 representative lining up opposite Siya Kolisi are near zero, but Portugal or Chile could provide Townsend a chance to test him out, if anything just to tie him down to Scotland as he remains eligible to play elsewhere.

“Whether Gregor is going to give him a go in one of the games, I don’t know,” the 76-cap Scotland international added. “Or whether it’s just to give him that taste of what the environment is, to bed him in early on to see how the international game’s played.

“So, I don’t know a huge amount about him other than the fact that he’s clearly got something about him. And if Gregor Townsend’s thought it’s appropriate to leave someone like Hamish Watson out or guys like that to rather have a look at this next generation coming through, he’s going be part of it for 10, 12 years at the age he is now.”

As players, there are plenty of similarities between Barclay and Douglas. Both opensides, both renowned for their strength over the ball. But the similarities extend beyond the pitch, as their careers bear a resemblance too.

The former Scotland captain was also called into a Scotland camp as a teenager under Matt Williams. The call-up did not result in a cap, as could well be the case with Douglas, but Barclay can nevertheless emphasise with how Scotland’s latest recruit will be feeling this week.

“I was s******g myself,” Barclay said reflecting on his call-up. “I was 18, I’d just left school two months before, I was injured and hadn’t played for Glasgow.

“Definitely, it’s a different generation, I think rugby is more accessible, social media has helped with that. The transition from U18s to the professional game is much smoother now, but for me, it was pretty daunting.

“On my first day, I was sharing a room with Simon Taylor who I’d grown up watching and not far off idolising. I was trying to base bits of my game off him, I was that kid running around trying to be Simon Taylor, and you’re suddenly in a room with him. So it’s quite a surreal moment.

“I think the younger generation seem to take it all in their stride. I don’t know enough about his temperament to say how he’ll handle it, but that will be with him forever now, when he gets a game for Edinburgh, that tag of ‘he was 19, he hadn’t played Edinburgh and now he’s in the Scotland squad,’ that will follow him everywhere now.

“So there’s going be a level of expectation on him, which I think is a good thing. I think embrace that people put faith in you, you clearly are someone – I was gonna say for the future, clearly not – for the now.

“How they use him over the next couple years, is the more interesting conversation. You look at the likes of who are ahead of him, Rory Darge, Matt Fagerson, all these guys are playing superb rugby. So I don’t think he’ll be expected to play, it’s more what he can get from this to make he’s now the Edinburgh starting openside. That’s his challenge, get into the Edinburgh team, he’s probably not thinking about Scotland at the moment.”

Every match of 2024 Autumn Nations Series is exclusively live on TNT Sports and discovery+ Watch The Autumn Nations Rugby Show, free-to-air on Quest every Thursday at 10pm from Oct 31.