IT is probably just as well for Ben Toolis that the in-goal area at Murrayfield measures up as one of Scotland's larger green spaces, for without those generous proportions the Edinburgh lock's professional try tally would still be stuck on zero.
As it was, Toolis needed just about every inch of grass available to pursue his own charge-down against Newport Gwent Dragons nine days ago to register his first points for Edinburgh. In the context of a 45-16 drubbing of the Welsh side, his try could hardly be considered critical, but it came at a point when the Dragons had been cobbling together a half- decent comeback, so it was arguably the most significant moment in the game that sent the capital side through to Friday's European Challenge Cup final against Gloucester at Twickenham Stoop.
Toolis is a difficult fellow to place in the conventional bestiary of second-row forwards. At 6ft 7in and 117kg he certainly brings a lot of beef, but there is plenty of bounce there, too, as that try and his background as an age-grade international volleyball player in Australia suggests. Not that Edinburgh coach Alan Solomons is fretting over categories, preferring instead to celebrate the range of attributes that the 23-year-old brings to his side.
"He is a fantastic athlete, an incredible athlete," Solomons purrs. "He's got everything. He is both athletic and an enforcer."
Toolis is also, on paper at least, an international rugby player now. Brought into Scotland's Six Nations squad, he rose up the pecking order when Richie Gray suffered his season-ending injury against Wales. However, Toolis's solitary Test excursion was an eight-minute cameo as a replacement against Italy, an outing that ended in ignominy when he was yellow-carded three minutes from the end of the game.
Solomons has mixed feelings about Toolis's involvement in the international arena. On the one hand, living and breathing that rarefied air did wonders for his development as a top-level player, but the fact he was a peripheral figure for most of the Six Nations deprived him of game time. As a consequence, Toolis was slow to hit his stride when he came back into Edinburgh's fold at the end of the tournament.
In which light, the hirsute lock's performance against the Dragons - he won the man-of-the-match award - was hugely encouraging for the club that is now bidding to become the first Scottish side to win a trophy of any consequence in the professional era. Gloucester may not boast the most formidable pack in English rugby at the moment, but you're always going to need a bit of grunt against any Aviva Premiership side.
Toolis was something of a bystander at Edinburgh last season. He and his twin brother Alex arrived from Australia in August 2013, about the same time as Solomons pitched up from South Africa, but he made just two competitive starts in his first year at the club. His breakthrough came when Edinburgh suffered a spate of injuries at the start of the current campaign. "He sort of came from nowhere," the coach smiles.
In any other season, Toolis would be well advised to prepare a speech to deliver after picking up the club's Most Improved Player award. In this one, however, he trails far behind Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, whose recent performances for Edinburgh have been sensational.
In his first Six Nations, Hidalgo- Clyne was given the game time that Toolis was denied, replacing Greig Laidlaw in all five games. He emerged from that period sharper and more confident, energised but not jaded. You don't want to burden a player with expectations, but it is probably fair to say that there is not a hotter prospect in the British Isles at the moment than the Edinburgh scrum-half.
With many predicting that he will be Scotland's first-choice in the position by the time of the World Cup, Hidalgo-Clyne's contest with Gloucester's Laidlaw on Friday will be the final's most fascin- ating sub-plot. Hidalgo-Clyne, the 21-years-young pretender, has pace in his running and his pass, but Laidlaw has a decade of top-level experience he can bring to bear. The contest is almost impossible to call, and Solomons, who coached Laidlaw at Edinburgh last season, is certainly not inclined to say who is the better player.
"That is for Vern [Cotter] to decide," the former lawyer answers when asked to put himself into the Scotland coach's shoes and plump for one above the other. "They are both excellent players, but they are different. Greig is very experienced, while Sammy is a young lad coming into his own. Sammy probably learned a lot from Greig during the time he was here and during the Six Nations period. They offer different things. They are different scrum-halves in a lot of ways."
He is more forthcoming on Hidalgo-Clyne's attributes. "He is only 21, but what has really impressed me about him is his composure," says Solomons. "That's very important because it gives a measure of comfort to the forwards that he is managing them well, controlling things. As the season has gone on, he has just got better and better. The Six Nations gave him a huge boost of confidence. He has moved ahead rapidly. I would be more surprised if Sammy were not part of the World Cup squad. He has played some terrific rugby here.
"He is so quick. Over 20-30 metres he has electric pace, and he is actually a lot stronger than you think he is. He is only 85kg, but he's a tough little bugger, a hell of a player. Scotland has produced some great scrum-halves. You think of Roy Laidlaw and Gary Armstrong and this guy has the potential to be one of the great scrum-halves as well."
Whatever happens on Friday, it is clear that Edinburgh have made massive strides over the past eight months. They are still capable of throwing in the odd wretched performance, but there is an emblematic value in the emergence of figures like Toolis and Hidalgo-Clyne over and above what they add as players.
And Solomons is adamant that the credit lies with them, not him if Edinburgh do triumph on Friday. "For the side it would be absolutely fantastic," he says. "I think they really deserve it with what they've come through. But it is going to be a hard game, there is no question about that. Gloucester are a quality team and they have a lot of experience in their side as well."
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