Darcy Graham is not the type of character to look too far beyond the challenge immediately ahead, but the full extent of his own potential is beginning to dawn him.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a terrific breakthrough season, scoring seven tries in 18 appearances for Edinburgh and establishing his international credentials with three tries in four matches wearing the dark blue of Scotland – including a double in that sensational draw against England at the end of the Six Nations.
His sights are now firmly set on building on these achievements by earning selection to Scotland’s World Cup squad which will set off for Japan in just under three months’ time, but beyond that he has been encouraged to take seriously the prospect of making the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa.
At an end-of-season debrief with Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill last month, Graham was taken aback when the Englishman stated that he should be one of the players aiming to break the recent run of minimal Scottish representation in Lions squads.
“Cockers said in my one-to-one meeting that I’ve cemented myself in the Scotland squad, so why not be the best winger in Britain and Ireland, not just Scotland,” explained the Hawick-bred winger. “He’s said to me that’s my next goal, to aim for that.”
“I came out the meeting and I had never thought of that, but then I thought: ‘There’s no reason why not!’”
And Graham knows that his next big challenge is making sure he is on the plane to Japan, which means the next few months are going to be all about keeping his nose to the grindstone in order to make sure he is in the best possible shape.
“The World Cup is the biggest tournament in the world, you always want to go and this is my chance to show the coaches what I can do: work hard on the field, get fit, put a bit of weight on and hopefully get on that plane,” he said.
Graham then clarified that he is not obsessing about bulking up. He currently weighs 83kgs and wants to get to 85kgs.
“In my one-to-one with Cockers, he said he’s not fussed about my weight, it will come naturally to me with four gym sessions a week, so I’m not worried about it,” he explained.
“When I came in to the Scotland camp they asked me what my goals are for strength and conditioning, and I said then I just want to get quick because the quicker I am, the better I am.”
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