The cab rank for the Scotland 10 jersey looks as empty as the one on the High Street an hour after closing time right now, but Rory Hutchinson is prepared to moonlight if the need arises.
With Finn Russell back in France after last week’s drama in training camp, Worcester’s Duncan Weir was called up on Friday to cover for the now presumed starting 10, Adam Hastings. Beyond those two, however, the cupboard is decidedly bare of regular and experienced 10s should further misfortune occur.
However there is one stop-gap solution already in camp in the shape of Hutchinson, the Northampton centre who turns 24 this week as Gregor Townsend’s squad go for their final preparations in Spain.
Hutchinson, Cambridge-born but spotted by Scottish Rugby’s exiles network at an early age and qualified by virtue of a grandmother from Glasgow, played in the pivot role in his Under-20 international for Scotland and still runs at 10 in training for his club and in Scotland camp.
“I have done some training sessions here and at Northampton covering 10, and I used to play there at under-20s,” he explained. “It’s another string to the bow, I can cover if need be and I’m always happy to step in.
“I’m a 12 that distributes a lot, so it’s a great habit to get into, stepping up to first receiver in general play, getting the confidence and everything like that.
“Whether it be at 12 getting the ball off 9 or being at 10, just being able to direct the team is always a great skill to have.”
Moving to such a crucial position would have a touch of irony given Hutchinson was thought by many to be unlucky not to get into the Rugby World Cup squad at the eleventh hour. He was at the entire summer training camp, appeared in three warm-up games scoring two tries, but ultimately didn’t make the cut.
“I felt like I’d played well in the warm-ups, but there are a lot of good players in my position and I was one to miss out,” he reflected.
“Gregor gave me his feedback and I’ll keep that personal, but he gave me work-ons which I’m still trying to do now.
“There’s always work-ons, you’re never perfect. But I wanted to keep the relationship healthy and I think it’s going well. I want to prove to him that I’m still improving.”
Hutchinson still felt part of the effort in Japan, and was as disappointed as anyone at the failure to reach the last eight.
“It was frustrating not to be out there, but I watched every game very closely,” he continued. “I know we went out there with a goal and after training in the summer, knowing how hard everyone worked, not to get the results, losing those two big games, that was disappointing.
“But that’s done, and we’re on to the next challenge now. The Six Nations is an exciting time and we’re really looking forward to it.
“We have Ireland first and everyone’s really excited because we want to prove a point. After a disappointing World Cup we want to come back and compete, and beat the best teams. We’re really looking forward to a fresh start in a new competition.”
On being left out, Hutchinson quickly re-focused on Northampton, where he has been one of the outstanding players in Saints’ push to the top of the Gallagher Premiership.
“I’m not sure if I was proving a point, I just knew that I had to get on with it,” he said. “I went back to Northampton and just played rugby, and that’s allowed me to come back into (international) camp.
“All I could do was play. You get better every time you play and for me it’s about getting consistent rugby. I’ve been getting that under Chris (Boyd) at Northampton.”
And he feels more at home in the national squad now, not least because so many of his team-mates from the Under-20s are graduating to the full team at the same time.
“There’s even more of them I came up with through the `20s,” he said. “I feel a bit more at ease because I’ve played with everyone now.
“I loved the summer camp in Portugal. It was time to go away with the squad and really get to know people.
“I really enjoyed my time there and I thought it was a really good training week in the heat and with the intensity we trained at. I’m all for these trips away and I hope this one to Spain will be even better than Portugal.
“The summer was great and playing at Murrayfield for the first time in front of a big crowd was a great thrill. But yes, to play in an actual tournament will be special.”