Jackson determined to grab Scotland chance

Ruaridh Jackson is determined to make his mark when Scotland play Fiji in Suva on Saturday.

With Finn Russell, the starting fly-half in both tour games so far, having left the Scotland camp to join the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand, back Jackson feels he has an opportunity to win his first cap for almost 12 months, the last one coming against Japan last summer.

“I am desperate to get on the pitch and show what I can do,” he said. “With Finn where I think he deserves to be (with the Lions), it gives me an opportunity.

“If I get that chance I am desperate to put my hand up. There is a lot of excitement about this squad, about what we can do, what we can achieve.

“We are kicking on from where Vern (Cotter, the former head coach who moved to French club Montpellier last month) left it and we are looking in a good place for the future. It is something you want to be playing in.”

Jackson was named at full-back in the original squad, but most of his 30 caps so far have come at fly-half, and that is where he hopes to get his chance on Saturday.

“Ten is where I prefer playing,” he said. “I enjoy full-back as well so if I have to step in there, then I am glad to do so, but fly-half is where I want to be and where I feel most comfortable.

“There was a really memorable moment at the weekend, beating Australia in Sydney, but we have another huge game coming up – you can’t rest on the last one, the next game is always the most important.

“Fiji are a dangerous side, and they have a bit of confidence after beating Italy.”

Harlequins’ Jackson is one of the many players in the Scotland side to have played alongside scrum-half Niko Matawalu and lock Leone Nakarawa when they were at Glasgow, so he has some idea of what to expect.

Having formed a half-back partnership with Matawalu, Jackson has a particularly good understanding of what to expect from the Fijian playmaker.

“When you see some of the things he did in a Glasgow shirt, it is almost unbelievable. A couple of times, you just had to watch it back to believe he did actually do what he did,” he said.