JOHNNIE BEATTIE knows this season is make or break in his ambition to be play in the Rugby World Cup.
Having been handed a lifeline in the form of a late call-up to the Six Nations training squad, he is determined to put club struggles behind him and seize the opportunity.
He appreciates the irony of getting the call-up to the national training camp minutes after coming off the field following Castres' 47-19 hammering by Harlequins in the European Champions Cup, but reckons he must have done something right - apart from scoring one of his side's three tries - to have earned the call.
"You have an audition every week, it's part and parcel of being a professional player, it's just in a very public forum," said the 29-year-old. "It was hard. We lost by 25 points at home and it was not a great performance by us, by me - I wasn't extraordinary by any means. Obviously I endeavoured enough and did enough to earn the phone call."
His problem is that as a specialist No.8, the competition for Scotland places has never been greater but there are injuries at the moment.
Adam Ashe and Ryan Wilson are both missing for different reasons, leaving David Denton as the only specialist in the squad originally named and if he missed out it would be seen as a sign that he is following Kelly Brown and John Barclay into the sidelines.
"The World Cup, it's a personal target but this year it is going to harder than the last two [World Cups] to get in," he observed.
"You've got Adam Ashe coming back from injury, you have Dents [Denton] and Josh Strauss about to qualify. That's three top-draw No.8s already. I have to stick my hand in and challenge as a six/eight.
" It's a personal target, it always has been but I understand it'll be hard this year and I have to fight my way through."
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