As Edinburgh collectively entered the Heineken Champions Cup considered rank outsiders and likely to be overpowered by bigger opponents, D’Arcy Graham was entitled to welcome his colleagues to his world.

The 5ft 7in, 21-year-old has had to prove that good enough is big enough from the moment he set his sights on becoming a professional rugby player.

However, for all that he was named in a Scotland training squad early in his first season as a full-time player, his opportunities with his new club were limited as he made just one Pro14 starting appearance and he ended it with a stint in the Scotland sevens squad..

A quad muscle injury having restricted his involvement in pre-season, it was beginning to look as if it might have been a different story this time around when he did not feature in the first month of the season.

However, when the management felt the form of some of those playing regularly had dropped off sufficiently that a reminder needed to be issued, there appears to have been no hesitation in giving their wee winger a chance.

And Graham has seized it sufficiently to be seen as having a chance of further involvement with the national set-up when the squad for the autumn Tests is announced this weekend. And he does not shy away from having ambitions in that direction.

“Last year it was a bit stop-start for me. I got one game then was out of the team for a few weeks, then was shifted off to the sevens, then back for one game, then was out for a few weeks.

"(But) that is now two games in a row under my belt the full 80 and I want to keep building and show what I can do and push for the national squad. That is kind of my end goal. It would be a dream to play for Scotland,” he said.

He is obviously aware that, like others such as the great Welsh winger Shane Williams before him, he has to prove he can overcome what look like natural disadvantages in physical terms and relishes the prospect of playing a part in changing perceptions on behalf of others as well as himself.

“I want to prove a point that there is still room for these small boys in the game. You have to go out and play each game as it comes and just enjoy the experience,” he said.

“Defending wise has been the main thing I have been working on – trying to get more dominant in tackles, trying to get off the line quickly.

“It is kind of difficult. Technique comes into it a lot as these big boys run flat out and it is very hard to stop them, so you just get there and get your body in front of them.

"I don’t respect my body. I just throw myself in front of them.”

Giving himself the best opportunity to do that has also required the right attitude, but he is beginning to feel the benefit.

“I came into Edinburgh in my first year and I was 77 kilos and I am now 84 so it is fair bit of weight in just over a year,” said Graham.

“When I did my quad it was good because I could get into the gym for two sessions a day and build up my strength, but it was brutal for four or five weeks.

“It will help me with carrying, getting over the gain line and breaking tackles. It has not slowed me down. I am feeling really sharp now, coming back off the sevens I was flying. My body was a bit sore and tired after a long season.

"The rest was good and heading into this season it was about getting that weight on and fitness will come with games.”

That parallel with his club as a whole has continued into this season as they seek to step up to a new level, playing in the Champions Cup for the first time since it was re-branded and reduced to a more intense 20-team competition.

Edinburgh duly defied the expectations of many commentators when they took on one of the best-resourced clubs in Europe last weekend, returning from Montpellier with a losing bonus point. But they felt they should have had more.

“It brought a lot of belief into the squad. We have to believe now. Going out there we didn’t know what to expect in terms of performance or scoreline, but we showed that we are bloody game,” said Graham.

“We can go out there and perform and be in games. It is just little details that let us down, like a wee dropped ball or not clearing out a ruck quick enough and giving away turnovers.

"We were gutted ... we came off the pitch knowing we had let things slip by. We should have won that game.

“There was a game there for the taking. We are learning. We left it out there and could have, should have won.”

Despite boasting home advantage, the challenge this weekend will arguably be even greater as they take on a three-time European champion club.

Toulon cannot afford to lose after being embarrassed at home by Newcastle last weekend.

But, for all that he acknowledges the size of the task, Graham believes Edinburgh have shown they are man enough for the task in hand.

“Toulon will want to get their campaign going and are looking for their first win like us. They are not used to losing at home and they will be hurting from that where as Newcastle showed what they can do,” he said.

“We need to start well and fire in straight away and believe in ourselves because we are good enough. We just switch off at times, but it is definitely there. We will put a big team away at some point and it has to be sooner rather than later.”