WHEN people demand to see your ID, it’s usually because you are not as old as you claim. But when one of Jamie Ritchie’s Edinburgh team-mates asked him for proof of age, it was because he could hardly believe that the back-row forward is only 18.

Not that Ritchie looks at all haggard or bearded or balding. The incredulity arises from his quiet self-assurance and his leadership qualities on and off the field that stood him in good stead last season as captain of Scotland’s under-20s.

“I said ‘How old are you, 21?’ and he said ‘No, I’m 18’,” Michael Allen, Edinburgh’s new recruit from Ulster, explained. “I couldn’t believe it. I asked him to show me his driving licence because I didn’t believe he was only 18.”

Ritchie made only one appearance in the PRO12 last season, playing most of his rugby at age-group level but also making half a dozen or so appearances for Heriot’s. This season - especially during the Rugby World Cup, when Edinburgh’s more experienced players will be absent - he can expect to be called into action far more regularly.

“The World Cup represents a huge opportunity for us young guys to put our hand up, and hopefully play well to cement our place in the team,” he said. “Solly [Edinburgh coach Alan Solomons] explained that last season was about bleeding me into the professional game, while this season is going to be a massive year for me in terms of game time.

“I’m part of the group now, because I’ve been here a year. Last year I was coming in and trying to meet everyone, see what everyone is like, and because the age gap is quite big it was about trying to relate to them – their chat is a bit more developed than mine.

“I didn’t want to be listening to random music and talking about my highers and stuff like that. But it’s been really good and all the boys have been really welcoming.

“I was really aware of the fact that it would be really difficult for me to get my way into the back row [last year], because, for all the injuries we had during the season, hardly any of them were in the back row. So I understood why I wasn’t involved, because it was such a massive season for us, with the European run and that battle for top six in the Pro12. I’d obviously have loved to get more games, but I wasn’t too disappointed.”

Ritchie is sure to get more games in the coming campaign, and probably in all three of the back-row positions, even though Solomons sees him settling down at blindside. “Solly likes me at six and I like playing there, but just so long as I’m playing rugby I’m perfectly happy,” he added.

“He knows that I can play seven, having seen me play there for the under-20s, so that’s good for me because it is an option - if somebody gets injured in that position I can slot in. I feel I can play across the back row.”