Six Nations: Scotland's Ben White on taking two seconds to say yes and why Calcutta Cup bow was the best 10 minutes of his life

Ben White described it as the best ten minutes of his life and it’s hard to recall a more dramatic introduction to international rugby.

Stepping off the bench as a temporary replacement for Ali Price, the London Irish scrum-half applied the coup de grace as Scotland scored the opening try of Saturday’s Calcutta Cup triumph.

It was a fine finish to a brilliant move involving Stuart Hogg and Darcy Graham but, a few minutes later, White found himself back on the sidelines with his tracksuit on. Price had passed a head injury assessment and returned to the fray.

White, a surprise inclusion in Gregor Townsend’s Six Nations squad, came on again for Price in the second half and was part of the Scottish defensive effort as the home side held on for a famous 20-17 victory.

“It was an incredible experience, to be honest. I don’t think words can do it justice,” said the debutant. “It was absolutely amazing. With the fans and the stadium – it was electric. It was unbelievable.

“I walked off and said to one of the lads, ‘that was the best 10 minutes of my life!’ If anything, getting on like that was good as it took away the nerves and angst of maybe waiting until the last 20 minutes. Just to be thrown in at the deep end was a good thing as you just go on and do your job.”

Just to add extra spice, White had already played for Eddie Jones’ England, turning out at Twickenham in the non-cap international against Barbarians in 2019.

Despite his earlier affiliation, the Stoke-on-Trent-born half-back said he had no hesitation in answering Townsend’s call.

“The second I got that phone call from Gregor, you know he was like you can have 24-48 hours to think about it, I said I don’t need more than two seconds mate, yes please!

“It is an