Even the most dedicated of rugby trivia buffs would struggle to come up with the name of the last man to score a hat trick of tries for Scotland.

But then, as Ally Hogg has all but disappeared off the Scottish Test radar screen in recent years, just remembering the former Edinburgh man's name might be considered a feat in itself.

Hogg collected those three touchdowns against Romania at Murrayfield in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The scores cemented his reputation as one of the most prolific players in the history of the Scottish game. A few months later, he crossed for his 10th international try, putting him just one behind John Jeffrey in the all-time scoring list for Scottish forwards.

At that point, Hogg seemed certain to overtake Jeffrey in due course. But in 2009, after winning 48 Test caps over the previous six years, he suddenly became persona non grata for his country. To make matters more mystifying still, it was Andy Robinson who effectively ended Hogg's Scotland career, refusing to pick the player who had been his most-trusted lieutenant when the coach was at Edinburgh.

There were rumours of behind-the-scenes dust-ups, but as most of those were said to have involved people who have long since left the Murrayfield payroll, they can hardly be cited as reasons for Hogg's exile from the international arena.

"For whatever reason, Andy Robinson just didn't seem to like me at Scotland level," says Hogg with a shrug. "It happens, and I had to take it on the chin. If a coach doesn't like you then there's not a lot you can do about it."

Well, other than play out of your skin, of course. Which is pretty much what Hogg has been doing these past few seasons. Having moved from Edinburgh to Newcastle Falcons in 2010, he has long since established himself as a cornerstone of the north-east side's pack and a senior figure in the team that powered its way back into the Premiership last season. All being well, he will be back on duty when the Falcons take on Edinburgh in their final pre-season friendly at Hawick's Mansfield Park tonight.

Poignant? Not really. "I'm looking forward to it, but I don't really know many of the boys there any more," says the 30-year-old loose forward. "Most of the ones I played with have moved on now."

A good number of them to Newcastle, in fact. Hogg jokes about his new employers trying to recreate the Edinburgh team of 2008, and you can see his point as the squad now includes Phil Godman, Mike Blair, Scott MacLeod and Fraser McKenzie, as well as a number of other Scots whose route to Kingston Park did not take them through the Scottish capital.

"We were trying to get one corner of the changing room painted in Scottish colours," he says. "It's been good having the new Scottish guys come in. Normally, it takes a while to get to know new guys, but I've known those ones for years. There's a lot of banter about the Scottish takeover. We have Scotland v the Rest of the World games in training."

Nationalities apart, Newcastle's recruitment drive has been designed with consolidation in mind. The club had been walking the relegation tightrope every season for a decade before it finally did drop out of the Premiership, and director of rugby Dean Richards is looking for long-term stability rather than instant success now that they are back.

Hogg explains: "We want to do the best we can. We're not going to set any targets, but obviously we want to stay up. If we can do that then we can start planning the business and finance sides of things. You want your club to be attractive to players who might want to come, so we want to get stability in place. So, yes, the No.1 priority is to stay up, but there have to be ambitions beyond that as well."

Personal ambitions at that. As versatile as he is across the back row, the only rational explanation for Hogg's exclusion from the international scene is that he doesn't quite fit the bill as a specialist in any of the three positions. But that does not stop him wanting another cap - or feeling that being in the Premiership can only help his case.

"Hopefully, Scott Johnson might come down and watch a few games," says Hogg. "If I'm playing well enough I might get the chance to get another crack at it. I would love to have another go and it would be great to be there or thereabouts. My hat is still in the ring.

"I've had no contact with the Scotland coaches, but I felt I played pretty well last season, played some good rugby. I could have moved when we went down, but I wanted to stay and help the club get back up. In the Premiership I'll be playing at a higher level, against higher calibre people, and if I'm playing well then, hopefully, it will be noticed."

Edinburgh will hand a first start to Jack Cuthbert, their summer signing from Bath, in tonight's game. Cuthbert takes the place of Matt Scott, who suffered an ankle injury against Northampton last weekend, although he will play on the wing, with Dougie Fife moving into the centre.