I’ll get my Phil of being a Scot
Kiwi Burleigh is delighted to get the call up from Gregor
PHIL BURLEIGH insists he can’t wait to show Scotland boss Gregor Townsend what he can do in a dark blue jersey.
The Edinburgh star now qualifies for the Scots after his three-year residency spell.
And the Kiwi midfielder has set his sights on picking up his debut cap in the autumn Test series.
Burleigh’s chances have soared after it was revealed that Glasgow centre Alex Dunbar has been ruled out of the Murrayfield clashes in the wake of knee surgery.
As he geared up for Friday’s Pro14 tussle with Leinster in Dublin on Friday, the Gunners ace said: “I was proud to be called up to the national squad training session.
“But I have a lot more to do – and my concentration is on Edinburgh. The three-year wait passed quickly and I was thrilled when Gregor got in touch.
“My great-grandparents were born and raised in Aberdeen and obviously went to New Zealand at some point so I do have Scottish blood in me.”
Looking ahead to the Dublin trip, Burleigh said: “It’s going to be another step up.
“We now have the physicality, so I don’t think we need to work on that much. But there’s improvement needed in attack, skills and execution.”
Meanwhile, Pat MacArthur has booted out the notion that Treviso will be an easier team to beat than Munster.
The Glasgow hooker issued his verdict as he stepped up preparations for the home-turf showdown with the Italians.
It will come just a week after the Warriors powered to a bonus-point triumph over the Euro giants from Limerick.
But streetwise MacArthur is adamant he does not expect a drop in intensity.
He said: “As a front row man, I can say that Treviso are always one of the toughest matches of the season.”
Treviso have shaken off their whipping boy tag with wins against Edinburgh and Ospreys.
And MacArthur added: “These results didn’t come as a shock to me.
“They have been pushing the good teams over the past couple of years.”