You don't have to talk to Anton Bresler for very long to realise he's a bit of a fish out of water.

A veritable Shark, in fact, having joined Edinburgh from the Natal side of that name at the end of last season, and a pretty big one at that.

But it was not just Bresler's 6ft 7in stature that persuaded capital coach Alan Solomons to offer him the deal that brought him to Scotland from South Africa three months ago. Rather it was the way he puts it to such good use around the field as well as on the touchline. "He is a big, powerful, abrasive player," Solomons said at the time. "I would describe him as an enforcer lock."

The term draws a sheepish smile from Bresler, clearly one of the more mild-mannered enforcers on the scene.

But as he talks through his reasons for making the move from one of the most successful teams in the southern hemisphere, his enthusiasm for European rugby's more physical dimensions shines through. In short, Bresler likes to put himself about a bit. He explains that it was watching European rugby's fierce forward battles on TV that persuaded him to up sticks. It is safe to assume, then, that not too many Edinburgh games were being broadcast in South Africa last season, as ferocity was not the most obvious characteristic of the Scottish side's pack.

There were some signs of improvement in that area in Edinburgh's pre-season clashes with Leicester and Newcastle Falcons, and in their opening Guinness PRO12 victory over Munster two weeks ago, but they slipped back into bad habits in a flat-footed and dispiriting performance as they lost at home to Connacht last weekend. After a number of injuries, that game marked Bresler's debut as he came off the bench for the final 28 minutes.

But he feels he can make more of an impact as he makes his first start against Ospreys in Swansea today. "It's difficult coming off the bench," he says. "You are playing against boys who have played 50 or 60 minutes of rugby and they are all tired. It's not the same as starting. I expected it to be a lot more physical, but it was a dry game and it was not as physical as I expected."

Ospreys should put him right on that score this afternoon, when his direct opponent will be Alun Wyn Jones, one of the best and hardest Test locks in the world. "I'm looking forward to playing against an international player," Bresler says.

"Wales are a very good inter-national team and playing against someone of that stature will be good. It's another challenge, another tough rugby game and another tough day at the office against a great player like that."

Bresler was actually born in Namibia - he is a cousin of Tinus Du Plessis, the Test flanker who was with Wasps until last season - but was raised in Durban. However, after four seasons with his home city side, he felt stirrings of wanderlust and asked his agent to look around on his behalf.

"I said to him I needed to travel a bit, experience something new, meet a few new people," Bresler said. "I grew up in Durban and I felt the need for a bit of change.

"In sport you are lucky enough to get these opportunities to see different places, meet new people and make a few more mates.

"I knew Edinburgh had a South African coach and there were quite a few South African boys, which made the decision a lot easier. If you think about it, it would be a lot more difficult to adapt to a place with a lot of guys that don't think the same way as you and do things the same way."

Which brings us back to that fish out of water thing. Bresler, newly married and with a few seasons of long-haul Super Rugby behind him, is no innocent abroad, but he admits to being confounded by elements of Edinburgh life.

"The whole environment is different," he smiles. "Edinburgh things work totally differently. It amazes me how public transport works here because back home you don't use public transport. But I've had a lot of help from people who tell me to take bus number this or that. The boys and the public have been really helpful."