Edinburgh Rugby second row Grant Gilchrist has been promoted to the starting line-up for Scotland to face Australia after Tim Swinson failed to recover from a chest injury.
Gilchrist, 23, joins the pack alongside Jim Hamilton in the engine room for the visit of Australia, winning his fourth cap and looking to stake a claim for the Six Nations.
The former Alloa RFC lock, who made his international debut against France in Paris in the spring, said: “I found out after training on Wednesday and it’s obviously disappointing for ‘Swinno’ and you have to feel for one of your teammates when they’ve had to drop out.
“But it is a massive opportunity for me and it is one I’m really excited about.
“I’ve not been involved in any of the game so far so I was really excited about the weekend regardless.”
Head coach Scott Johnson has used Swinson, Hamilton, Richie Gray, Al Kellock and Jonny Gray, who takes Gilchrist’s spot on the bench, at second row during the autumn test series as he looks to create depth in all positions of the squad.
Gilchrist admits competition for jerseys is intense and he hopes to thrive on the pressure of forcing himself in to the reckoning.
He said: “Competition is really high and the moment, especially in the second row – I think that will be six of us that have played – so it puts a lot of pressure on when you are playing.
“You have to play well, otherwise the next time selection comes around you might not be involved.
“Tim played really well [winning the Man of the Match award against Japan] and that’s something I’m hoping to do as well and hopefully show just how much depth we have in this position.