Matt Currie: Centre to seize 'surreal but cool' Scotland chance as he flourishes under Mark Bennett's wing

Matt Currie knows that this summer’s Scotland tour to South America will be an excellent learning experience, but the 21-year-old centre insists that he is not going to settle for being a peripheral observer when it comes to match-days.

Gregor Townsend’s squad flew out to Santiago on Sunday and will play four matches during the next month, starting with a non-cap game against Chile this coming Saturday, followed by a series of Tests against Argentina over the next three weekends.

Currie is one of six uncapped players in the 39-strong squad, alongside Edinburgh team-mates Ben Muncaster and Glen Young, Glasgow duo Ollie Smith and Murphy Walker, and Kyle Rowe of London Irish. All are likely to feature against Chile, knowing that a big performance in that match will push them into contention to play the Pumas, when the English-based players in the squad will also come into contention.

“I’ve been invited along to train with the Scotland a couple of times before, but I think that was more of an opportunity for me just to get used to the experience of being part of the group,” said Currie. “To get a chance to tour with the squad and actually play is awesome.

“It has come around pretty quickly, to be fair – I wouldn’t have said it was on my radar necessarily – but it’s always a goal to play for your country and it’s something I’ve been driving towards for a long time.”

Currie has made 13 appearances – eight starts – for Edinburgh since his debut last April but has played most of his recent rugby with Watsonians in the part-time Super6 league. Despite this, he insists that he feels ready for the step up to the full Scotland squad.

“Mike Blair [Currie’s head coach at club level] is really good at making the Super6 an avenue for