Jon Welsh admits he’ll have to be at his best to combat Ally Dickinson when the two Scotland props line up for battle in the 1872 Cup on Friday.
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Welsh, who made his one and only RBS 6 Nations in appearance to date against Italy two years ago, was a member of Scotland’s summer tour under new head coach Vern Cotter.
And there’ll be no better place for Welsh to catch Cotter’s eye in time for the 2015 Championship as Edinburgh host the second leg of the 1872 Cup against Glasgow Warriors – needing to overturn a 16-6 deficit.
One man he can look towards for inspiration is Dickinson, who has enjoyed a run of five consecutive starts as Scotland’s go-to loosehead.
Tight-head Welsh will be packing down opposite him – and he can’t wait to pit his wits against the 39-time international.
“Scrummaging-wise Ally is like a rock,” Welsh told The Scotsman. “But analysis is really important for us and scrummaging is all about a team and I’ll not say what I need to change, but Ally’s a great scrummager and has improved massively over the years.
“I think now he is settled at loosehead and as a result he is playing there a lot more consistently.
“He’s also a superb athlete. I get on with him quite well, and he’s one of these gym junkies. He’s in great shape. He may be a prop but his physical attributes are excellent and he is massive part of the Edinburgh scrum.”
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