Stuart McInally, who led Scotland on their summer tour, was yesterday named as Edinburgh’s new captain for the coming season.

In making the appointment Richard Cockerill, the club’s head coach, explained that the international hooker boasts all the qualities he is looking for in a leader. He also noted that he can expect strong support from John Barclay, whom he stood in for as Scotland captain, Grant Gilchrist and new signing Henry Pyrgos, both of whom have also led the national side and Fraser McKenzie, who took over the Edinburgh captaincy in the midst of something of a crisis early last season.

“I think he epitomises what Edinburgh should be about,” said Cockerill.

“He’s proved himself in the last 12 months that he can compete on the world stage and his work ethic on and off the field is second to none. When he plays for us or Scotland, there’s no difference. He doesn’t save himself for Scotland, he just does everything really, really well.

“A couple of years ago him and Gilchrist were co-captains and neither of them could either get in the team or were fit. For me he’s a local boy, schooled locally, born locally, he’s captaining his home team and he’s a good enough player to grace the world stage, so for me that’s really good.

“Outside of that with guys like Pyrgos, McKenzie and Barclay, Gilchrist is in there as well, there’s a lot of good leadership so I think it’s perfect for us as a club and our supporters to identify with a Scotsman who was born down the road, educated down the road, who’s leading the capital team.”

McInally believes the summer’s experience served him well and that he is more ready for the role now than was the case two years ago.

“Scotland was useful because there were so many experienced players around us," he said. "There were young guys, but in that leadership group there were the likes of Fraser Brown, Stuart Hogg, heaps of experience. It made it quite good and we tried to work hard and be really positive.

“I probably overthought it in the past. The more I captain I believe it is just about playing well and working hard.

“Sometimes the best answers come out when you sit back and let others lead. It is a big part.

"I am lucky at Edinburgh where I am surrounded with guys who have been captains of teams. John Barclay, Grant Gilchrist are around, the younger guys are keen to lead now and Fraser is there.

"Fraser can talk about line-outs so we can delegate and chat. For me it is just about playing well really.”

It is a measure of his enhanced status within the club that he has been invited to take on the captaincy when former Edinburgh and Scotland captain Ross Ford, the country’s most capped player, has finally regained full fitness and is set to challenge for the same position, but the faith Cockerill has developed in McInally is understandable on the basis of last season and the admiration is mutual.

“Cockers is great. He has won so much and he is right, we haven’t won anything yet,” McInally observed.

“We can’t get ahead of ourselves. We have not won anything. We made a play-off. In terms of where the club has been we are in a good space, but it is a good message to reinforce.”

He knows, though, that reaching the knockout stages in the PRO14 for the first time and in doing so qualifying for the European Champions Cup for the first time in five years, brings a different kind of pressure.

“I am not sure people expected too much from us last year. This year there is probably more expectation than last year because we won a few games,” McInally acknowledged.

“That was great. In terms of ourselves we have no hard and fast rules. We just want to make sure we do the best we can every week to put ourselves in the best position to win. As Cockers always says, we will get what we get . . . we will get what we earn.”