Hidalgo-clyne renaissance set to continue in Florence with Scotland
S a m H i d a l g o - C l y n e s p e n t lockdown in an Airbnb in Devon where he tried to keep fit by running up hills.
When rugby resumed he was able to join Exeter Chiefs earlier than exp ected and play a par t in the delayed end to w h a t w o u l d b e t h e m o s t successful season in the club’s history.
T h e f o r m e r E d i n b u r g h scrum-half got his hands on not one but two pieces of silverware as he helped his new club win the Heineken Champions Cup and Gallagher Premiership finals on successive weekends.
The Hidalgo - Clyne revival continued this week when he was named on the bench for S cotland’s Autumn Nations Cup match against Italy on Saturday and the No 9 is now in line to win his first cap in over two years.
It’s a remarkable upturn in fortunes for the player whose career seemed to be drifting after he left S cotland to join Scarlets in 2018.
If the move to Wales didn’t work out, stints in France with f i r s t R a c i n g a n d t h e n Lyo n proved more profitable, paving the way for his switch to Exeter where his effectiveness as an impact sub was vividly demonstrated by the dramatic turnover he won against Racing in the dying seconds of the European Cup final in Bristol.
S c o t l a n d c o a c h G r e g o r Townsend left him out of his i n i t i a l a u t u m n s q u a d a n d Hidalgo-clybe said that was “a hard pill to swallow” because he felt his form had merited a call-up.
But he has been brought in for the Nations Cup and will likely see action in Florence this weekend.
“It’s a chance that has come around through his own performances,” said the Scotland coach.
“He’s got a lot of his strengths to his game. He’s a ver y good kicker, he’s competitive like all good 9s, he has an eye for a gap, and has an all-round skilful game.
“He played 10 and 15 when he grew up, so he’s a heads-up 9, and we’ve seen those elements come out with Exeter, whether it’s star ting a few games - he played ver y well against Northampton and Bristol - or coming off the bench, which he did in their semi-finals and finals.
“S o we wa n t e d t o i nvo l ve him in this period now, and he’s got an opportunity quite quickly after joining us to be in our matchday squad this weekend.”
The 12-times capped Hidalgo-clyne last pulled on a Scotland jersey during the 2018 summer tour when he starte d i n t h e w i n ove r C a n a d a and appeared as a substitute i n t h e d e f e a t by t h e Un i t e d S t a te s a n d t h e v i c to r y ove r Argentina.
Ten of his dozen caps have been won from the bench and he has experienced good and bad against Italy.
He was on the pitch when S cotland lost at home to the
Italians for the first and only time in the 2015 Six Nations a f t e r c o n c e d i n g a l a s t- g a s p penalty tr y. But he also started in the 16-12 win in a World
Cup warm-up game in Turin later that year.
He will be understudy to Ali Price in Florence on Saturday a f t e r n o o n , g e t t i n g t h e n o d
ahead of Scott Steele. George Horne, the fourth scrum-half in the S cotland squad, is out after suffering a toe injur y in training this week.