WE are a strange lot in Scotland.

In the middle of a fortnight of hand-wringing about one fly- half's decision to accept an invitation to train with Italy, nobody seems to have noticed that his predecessor in the national Under 20 side was playing probably his most assured and confident game for Edinburgh.

Which is not to say Tommy Allan, the player who looks like reverting to the first name that is actually written on his birth certificate — Tommaso — and heading to Italy, where his mother hails from, would not be a decent acquisition for Edinburgh and Scotland. It is more that while there is a fixation on those that the Scottish game could lose, it is too easy to forget the ones who are already here.

So step forward Harry Leonard. He is a year older than Allan but as captain of the Scotland Under 20s two years ago he was keeping Allan out of the starting side and it was only when he passed the age limit that his rival started to win regular selection.

More to the point, while Allan could not get a look-in as Perpignan imploded at Gloucester last week despite James Hook claiming a personal grand slam — try, conversion, drop goal and penalty — Leonard was playing probably his best game for Edinburgh as the starting fly-half in their win over Munster in a true humbling of Heineken Cup royalty.

It all adds an extra dash of intrigue to today's clash in the Stade Aime Giral in Perpignan, a hotbed of Catalan passion, where the two clubs meet in a match that could be decisive for both their European fates in only the second round of games.

For Leonard, who could come face to face with Allan if the Perpignan player emerges from the bench, it is a true step into the unknown. "On a personal level, playing over in France is something I have not done before," he said. "The team are really looking forward to it, though. Perpignan, like any French side, are capable of running the ball from anywhere, they don't keep a particularly structured game plan. It will be a good game and potentially very close.

"They come off a loss last week and are looking to rectify that. We have put our last game behind us and are looking to build on that and get better performances and better results."

Even in beating Munster, Leonard knows that he and the players around him are still evolving, learning the tactics and style being brought in by the new coaching regime at Edinburgh and honing the personal skills that had been allowed to slip under previous managements.

For him, there is the benefit of Philippe Doussy landing at Edinburgh last week as a short-term consultant skills coach. It may be an exaggeration to suggest he has been brought in as Leonard's personal trainer, working with him on a one-to-one basis, but it is not much of one, for Doussy is going to spend a lot of time improving the young fly-half's skills in both handling and kicking, so the future should look even brighter.

"I like him a lot, he is a very positive man and I hope to learn a lot from him," said Leonard. "He is hugely knowledgeable about the game and kicking skills in particular. First and foremost, I hope he improves my kicking, he has lots of good drills to improve handling. You will see an improvement throughout the team on things like the simple catch-and-pass."

Admittedly, Leonard owes his present run of games mainly to the injuries to Piers Francis and Gregor Hunter, the other squad fly-halves, but he says: "It would be incredibly selfish to see that as a positive for me personally, the others are good mates and good players."

However, having been given both the fly-half berth and the luxury of playing a series of games with Greig Laidlaw masterminding things inside him at scrum-half while Matt Scott and Nick De Luca are lurking outside in the centre roles to take the pressure off him, Leonard has flourished.

Not that he is happy bragging. "I am probably not the best one to talk about my own form," he says, ducking the issue. "As a team, though, there was an improvement but there is a lot more we can improve on. The Munster game is by no means the best we can do. We can improve and impress.

"It was a progression that shows how we have been improving during the last run of games. Obviously results have not always gone our way, but we believe as a collective that the performances have been building, culminating in a win in our first game of the Heineken Cup.

"That was a huge game for us and has really lifted spirits. Munster are not just any old side, they are a proven team in the Heineken Cup and to beat them in the first game of the competition is a great confidence boost for us and we are looking to build on that this weekend and then throughout the season."

Leonard will be tested as never before in the heat of battle in Perpignan, but two years ago, Edinburgh's European hopes were written off until an opening- round win over London Irish with Leonard at the helm. This was followed by a remarkable win over Racing Metro — partly sparked by Laidlaw taking over at fly-half, where he remained for the rest of the season while Leonard headed for Under 20 duties — setting them on their way to a stunning European run. Any bets on history repeating itself?