Taylor looks to make his mark at 12 against Bordeaux

GEORGE TAYLOR has vowed to use tomorrow afternoon’s European Challenge Cup quart er - f i n a l c lash aga i n st Bordeaux- Begles as an opportunity to make the Edinburgh No. 12 jersey his own.

The 23- year- old midfielder had some excellent performances for the capital club in the prelockdown section of the season

– including a man- of- thematch showing in the 10- 31 victory over Agen during the pool stage of this competition last November – but has struggled to nail down a starting place.

While the departure of Matt Scott during the summer should mean more opportunity for gametime this coming season, Chris Dean had been the preferred option at inside centre for the three games played since lockdown eased. However, that is set to change on Saturday when Taylor will be given his first start since rugby’s restart.

“When they mentioned that Matt was leaving it kind of woke me up a bit because I thought I’d potentially have more games in the 12 jersey,” said Taylor. “I’m looking to make my mark a bit more. I’ve still got a lot to learn, but I’m looking to get a consistent run of games under my belt.”

Tomorrow’s opponents led the Top14 before Covid caused the abandonment on the domestic season in France, and they will field a high- calibre midfield against Edinburgh which is likely to feature French internationals Matthieu Jalibert and Rémi Lamerat, plus New Zealander Ben Botica. It will be a big challenge which Taylor insists he is looking forward to tackling head- on.

“It’s exciting more than anything,” he said. “There will be nerves there, but good nerves.”