Jason White tells Kevin Ferrie how the SRU have supported him, as he prepares to head to the United States for specialist treatment that should guarantee his World Cup place.

Jason White - hairdresser. Somehow it does not quite ring true, but perhaps it was the English Players Rugby Association's idea of a joke when they sent Scottish rugby's biggest bruiser for his work experience.

Whether or not that is so, the idea of arguably the most brutal hitter in the northern hemisphere, if not world rugby, applying the conditioner is rather hair-raising, but White's recent knee injury has forced him to think about life after rugby.

"I've taken the chance to get in a bit of work experience," he explained. "I've been doing a bit with RBS in the private banking sector, the same area Andy Nicol has gone into, and I've also done some work in an area some might not have expected, working with a hair-care company KPMS whose boss is a rugby nut. It is good to get the chance to consider some options after rugby and I'm grateful to the EPRA. There is a danger that you finish playing and the only options are coaching or media work, so it has been good to look at other things, and it has also given me something else to think about during rehab."

Before the old guard leave the room screaming about what on earth is going on with these pampered youngsters, it should be noted that his involvement in hairdressing was purely on the business side. The conditioning White is really focused on is in turning his body into an even more effective missile than ever before.

This week he reached the halfway stage in his scheduled comeback from knee reconstruction and he is on course to lead Scotland at this year's World Cup.

"When I do come back I should be in the best condition of my life," he reckoned. "I'm doing three or four weight sessions a week as well as the rehab, which has been very busy. Mentally, I will be very fresh too."

No-one has said as much, least of all White, but Chris Paterson surely knows he is in a caretaker capacity as national captain and he will be the last to complain if and when he hands the job back to the Sale Sharks flanker.

It is also hard to imagine any of White's colleagues complaining about the special treatment he is receiving in being sent by the SRU to a specialist orthopaedic clinic in the USA to enhance his recovery.

As is so often the way with the most serious injuries, the circumstances that ruled him out of the RBS 6 Nations Championship could hardly have been more innocuous as he sought to make a quick change of direction during November's win over Romania then heard "the dreaded pop".

From the outset he knew, however, that the timing could have been much worse. "If it had happened during the Six Nations it would probably have put me out of the World Cup, as has happened to Steve Thompson England's hooker," he noted. "It is great to have the goal of the World Cup out there. When it's a hard day in rehab it is good to have that to remind yourself."

He has also drawn inspiration from Simon Taylor, his international team-mate, who has recovered from similar operations to both knees to join White in the 50-cap club with a man-of-the-match performance against Wales, and Charlie Hodgson, his Sale clubmate, who also recently underwent a second knee reconstruction.

"It's going really well," said White. "I was told it would be a total of six months' recovery time and that was exactly three months yesterday.

"Thankfully, we have reached the stage with medical science that what was an 18-month recovery period came down to nine months and is now six. In fact Adriam Lam, the rugby league player, recently completed his recovery in four-and-a- half months, but I'm not looking to rush things, I just want it to be right, because I want to play for another four or five years."

A combination of the rehab, which has involved leaving the house at 7.15am, returning at 4pm and work experience, discovering what real jobs are like, has strengthened his determination to extend his career to the maximum. He also knows a wage drop is likely when it ends, while there may be fewer perks like attending Tartan Week as a guest of Laing the Jeweller's at the end of his time at the isport orthopeadic clinic in Vermont.

Yet those who know White will realise all he is really bothered about is getting back to what he does best in a navy blue jersey, which may happen as early as the Churchill Cup with Scotland A three months from now.

"There's a real chance of playing in that, which I would love to do, but we won't be taking any risks because there's still a lot of time after that until the World Cup," he said.

His convalescence has also been helped by watching a youthful Scotland team continue to improve in his absence. Watching the Calcutta Cup defeat from a Dubai hotel, accompanied by England prop Andy Sheridan, his Sale Sharks clubmate who is also in rehab, was an uncomfortable experience, but the measure of the squad's development was their response to it.

"Living in England it was strange because the papers here spoke about what a poor game it was and how Scotland weren't all that good, but I thought it was a great effort and dominating another international pack like that is very encouraging," he observed. "To beat Wales with a relatively inexperienced group was a very, very good response to a tough day against England, and the way Chris led them was exceptional.

"So it's looking good and we just have to back it up with another performance this weekend. If we can, then we have a real chance against Ireland and then we go to France, which will be a particularly useful experience for those who haven't played there before, because that is one of our possible World Cup quarter-final match-ups."