OVER the course of the match as a whole in Turin last Saturday, Scotland were second best to Italy in the scrum. But the longer the second half wore on, the closer they came to achieving parity, and that provided the platform which led to Henry Pyrgos’s late match-winning score.

The Glasgow scrum-half may have got the plaudits for his try in his team’s 16-12 victory, but there is no denying that three other substitutes, all Edinburgh forwards, also played a major role in the victory. Alasdair Dickinson came on at loosehead prop five or six minutes into the second half, WP Nel was brought on for his debut at tighthead a few minutes later, and Ross Ford was introduced at hooker quarter of an hour into that second period.

All three are again in the squad for Saturday’s rematch at Murrayfield, the starting 15 for which will be named today. Even if they do not begin as a trio, it will be no surprise if they constitute Scotland’s first-choice front row for the Rugby World Cup. Indeed, earlier this week, Alan Solomons, the Edinburgh coach, said he would be “shocked to his boots” if his three players were not selected as a unit.

Solomons might not be a wholly impartial judge, but there is little doubt that each of the three has a strong case for inclusion. Dickinson has been in the best form of his career this year, Nel has always looked like a Scotland tighthead in the making as he awaited completion of his three-year residential qualification, and Ford has been the No 1 No 2 since time immemorial, or at least that is how it feels.

In fact, the former national captain made his debut in 2004 and became first choice in time for the 2007 World Cup. He may be affable and easy-going off the pitch, but the fact that he has held on to his place for so long is testament to his understated but fierce competitiveness.

Asked what he made of Solomons’s comments, Ford made the right noises about taking nothing for granted, but accepted that he, Dickinson and Nel had become an effective combination. “We’ve got the advantage that we play 70 minutes week in and week out with each other, against everybody,” he said.

“So we almost instinctively know what to do against different opposition. We feel what’s happening in the scrum and react to it quite well. That’s maybe an advantage right there, and it’s helpful.

“Dicko, myself and WP have played a lot of rugby together, so we have a slightly better advantage than the rest of the boys, knowing how each other work and the set-up that’s required. It’s a tough ask for some boys to be thrown into a game situation like that and not having seasons together to understand how each other work.

“It would say everything about the potential of the club if we had three boys starting there and others ready to come off the bench. The forwards is an area which Edinburgh have worked hard at.

“We have a dominant pack, and it’s a good statement for Edinburgh if we could produce that. It also gives the boys who are there now an opportunity to put their hands up for selection while we’re away. That would make for good competition when we get back, so it’s good for everyone all round.”

Nel wasted no time in making his presence felt against the Italians, something that came as no surprise to his team-mate. “The way WP plays, he’s really good to scrum with,” Ford continued.

“He’s so aggressive: he wants to go forward all the time, which makes my job a lot easier. Around the pitch he throws himself about.

“He brought his family across here [from South Africa] and made the statement by doing that that he was committed, so it was really good to see him get that first cap and get a start now. I think he’s deserved it.”

While there are times when more competition at hooker would have been welcome, Ford has fully deserved his own haul of nearly 90 caps, even if he finds it hard to believe he has been around long enough to win that many - or to be on the verge of taking part in his third World Cup.“It’s weird, as I never try to think that far ahead and suddenly the possibility of playing at three World Cups comes around.

“Someone mentioned the fact my first World Cup was eight years ago and I can’t believe it’s eight years ago already. Time does fly, but you don’t make these massive goals or look that far ahead. But to play at three World Cups would be nice.”