HIDALGO-CLYNE HAPPY TO SPOIL SEND-OFF
DEFIANT Edinburgh star Sam Hidalgo-Clyne will have no qualms about spoiling Gregor Townsend’s last match in charge of Glasgow Warriors, as he ‘is moving to the Scotland job, he’s not leaving the country’. The scrum-half claims he has not even thought about how emotional an occasion the derby match in front of a sold-out crowd at Scotstoun would be for the home club and their fans. The Scotland international is purely focusing on winning the final match of the Guinness Pro12 season, which would help Edinburgh move out of the shadows of their main rivals. ‘Gregor is moving to the Scotland job, he’s not leaving the country,’ said the Edinburgh scrum-half. ‘He’s still going to have a big influence on the players, at Glasgow and Edinburgh and Scotland. ‘For me, it’s a case of what we do on this side of the country and not what they are doing. It’s about our players, our coaching staff and fans at the moment. ‘We need to make sure we are on the right track and not living in their shadows.’ Hidalgo-Clyne is one of four No 9s who are competing for three places on Scotland’s three-match summer tour, with Townsend sure to keep a close eye on his performance as he goes head-to-head with Ali Price of Glasgow. Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw and Price are both sure to go on tour, with Glasgow’s Henry Pyrgos, who starts on the bench for the derby, or HidalgoClyne set to miss out. ‘I’m just trying to play well for Edinburgh, although I’m dying to get back into the Scotland set-up,’ said Hidalgo-Clyne. ‘If I get the chance to do that, then hopefully I can take it. ‘If I play well, then you never know what might come on the back of it but I’m just focused on trying to earn a win for the club and get one up on the opposition.’