Scotland hooker Stuart McInally hails impact of Richard Cockerill
Will Jackson -
Scotland hooker Stuart McInally has credited Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill with turning his game around.
McInally is likely to start for Scotland this weekend as they kick off their international season against Samoa at Murrayfield following injuries to rivals Ross Ford and Fraser Brown.
The Edinburgh forward, who himself has struggled with injuries in a brief international career, has made a bright start to the Guinness PRO14 season under Cockerill, who has taken the reins at Edinburgh and has already made an impact on his thrower.
"Just playing more is helping my confidence," the 27-year-old said. "It's the most settled I've felt at Edinburgh and I've been playing every week.
"I owe a lot to Richard Cockerill, he's taken a bit of a gamble on me at the start of the year and has been happy for me to play a lot and that was great for me to play week in week out.
"Before this year, the most I'd started at hooker was two games in a row, so it's nice to start the first four or five games.
"It's a massive confidence boost and great to develop."
He added: "The good thing about Richard is he knows about being a hooker, and the pressure you're under at set-piece and everything, but he doesn't put heaps of pressure on me even if I lose the odd line-out.
"He doesn't really mind as long as I'm contributing enough around the pitch."
Should Gregor Townsend select McInally to start in the front row, it will be his first Scotland appearance since the tour to Japan in 2016, following a succession of injuries.
Ironically he could get his chance due to injuries elsewhere in the squad, and the Edinburgh man admitted his sympathy for his fellow players.
He said: "I feel for Ross and Fraser. I've been in that position, such as in the World Cup (in 2015), where you get lengthy injuries at inconvenient times.
"I feel for them, especially Ross who I see day-to-day and how hard he works and how desperate he is to play for Scotland.
"I know he's hugely disappointed he's had to take a step back through injury."