KELLY BROWN, the former Scotland captain, believes that Vern Cotter's selection headache in the back-row ahead of the Six Nations is a welcome problem.
The Scots kick-off the tournament with a home match against Ireland on February 4 and Brown, who won 64 caps for his country, says there is an abundance of talent in the position.
During the Autumn Tests last month Cotter used John Barclay, Hamish Watson, Ryan Wilson, John Hardie, Magnus Bradbury and Rob Harley in the jerseys numbered six to eight.
Brown, who is still going strong with Saracens in the Aviva Premiership, said: “I have been very impressed by what I have seen from the back-row of late.
“It has been brilliant seeing my old mate John Barclay coming back into the fold and really showing everyone what he is capable of. He is a quality performer who can play all across the back-row and you could see during the Autumn Tests this year that he was acting as a sort of father figure to some of the younger ones like Bradbury and Watson and talking them through things.
“Barring injury he should be a key part of the team heading into the Six Nations while with Hardie injured for a spell Watson has a chance to really try and make his mark in the number seven jersey.
“Hardie could be back by then and he is a very good player, but Watson seems to have momentum behind him just now. He has a lot of attributes and is good at getting over the ball very quickly.
“He also likes to carry the ball a lot and played very well in the Argentina match against a back-row unit who were trying to disrupt everything and make life difficult.
“We all know that Wilson and Harley can do a job when called upon while it was good to see Bradbury given a shot against Argentina because from what I have seen on TV in recent months he has been the standout player for Edinburgh this season so far.
“He will have been nervous at first, but he played pretty well on the day while just being around the group for a few weeks in camp will have shown him what it is like and will stand him in good stead should he get the call for the Six Nations.
“With Dave Denton still to come back from injury and guys like Josh Strauss around it will be interesting to see what becomes Vern’s ‘first choice’ back-row.”
During the Autumn Tests Brown, 34, was also impressed by how second-row Jonny Gray did in the second-row and he sees the Glasgow Warriors’ leadership qualities starting to shine through.
“There has never been any doubt about Jonny’s quality, he is a brilliant athlete, but when he first came into the pro environment he was quite quiet and a bit reserved,” Brown explained.
“Now he is really stamping his authority on matches at international level and obviously having the captaincy at Glasgow has helped him because his overall game seems to have moved to the next level in the last 12 months.
“In general I think Scotland are in a pretty good place at the minute and the competition for starting spots seems to be growing which is what you need at the top level.”
As for Brown, well there is plenty of life in his playing days yet and he has been involved regularly in the Saracens’ matchday squad in recent weeks.
This season he has also taken steps into coaching and is working with some of the English club’s best young Academy prospects.
“I love it here at Saracens and even at 34 I feel like I am still learning about myself as a player and feel I can improve,” he stated.
“I still love playing, but the coaching aspect has been fun and some of the talent coming through at Saracens really is top drawer.”
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