Jonny Gray will bid to make his first Scotland appearance this autumn and he is hoping to do to enough to still be in the mix for next year’s RBS 6 Nations.
Gray, the younger brother of British & Irish Lions second row Richie, is one of five uncapped players called up to the Scotland squad by interim head coach Scott Johnson.
The 19-year-old Glasgow Warriors forward admitted to being a little star-struck when he met up with the squad but he is keen to impress during the autumn internationals.
“It was with the guys I grew up watching, some of them are the best players around so to train with them is a massive privilege,” he said.
“You could see the quality throughout the squad and I’m grateful to be here.
“I just want to make the most of this opportunity, learn from these guys and improve my game.”
Gray’s brother – the more experienced of the duo, with 31 caps to his name – returns to Scotland action after spending the summer in Australia with the Lions.
He is pleased to see his teenage sibling involved in the action and expects the squad to impress throughout November in preparation for the RBS 6 Nations.
“It was good to be back and see a lot of familiar faces and it is good to see my brother as well,” said Richie. “I have not seen him for a while so it is good to catch up.
“I think Jonno (Johnson) wants to build depth to the squad and he wants to be competitive.
“He wants to win Test matches so over the next three games we will be going out to give it our all, give it our best performances and hopefully come away with wins.
“In saying that, we want to perform so we are building towards the Six Nations games, the (South Africa) tour then building towards the World Cup.”
