IN 2013, when Nick Haining was kicked out of the Western Force Academy, he wondered if a career in rugby was for him anymore.

At just 22 years of age, the Australian native had been unceremoniously tossed on the scrap heap and he wondered, he admits, if playing club rugby as a hobby was all he was going to end up with.

Which makes his rise to international player all the more remarkable.

After being dropped from the Western Force Academy, Haining did not, in fact, hang up his boots.

And just a couple of weeks later, Western Force called him back and before he knew it, he was playing against the British Lions as they prepared to face Australia in their 2013 tour.

It was his first-ever professional game of rugby in which, coincidentally, he marked Sean Maitland, and despite the Lions cruising to a comfortable win, Haining loved it.

He was still unsure as to where exactly his career was going though. So, on the encouragement of a few of his friends, the flanker sent out his highlight reel and before he knew it, he had a contract offer from English Championship side, Jersey Reds.

Three years there set him up for a move to the English Premiership with Bristol Bears before a move Edinburgh last summer. And it was after joining the Murrayfield side that thoughts of playing on the international stage really began to feel realistic.

With a Scottish granny – 80-year-old Norma from Dundee who emigrated to Australia after the Second World War – Haining was eligible for the Scotland national team. But even he could not have foreseen the speed of his rise up the ranks, being called up to this year’s Six Nations squad less than four months after his first competitive appearance for the capital club.

And the 29-year-old admits even he is surprised with quite how well things have gone since signing for Richard Cockerill’s side last summer.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said of his progress.

“There was always an element there of aspiring to be in the Scotland squad. Being in Edinburgh, and starting a few games for Edinburgh, you think ‘I can try hard enough and do everything right, tick the boxes, I’ll get to playing internationally’.

“But at the time you’re so focused on Edinburgh that you don’t really think of it that much. You just want to get your performances out on the pitch and then hopefully the work will take care of itself, which it has. I mean, having that six months, coming into the squad now has been enormous for me. It was a real honour and I’m very excited.”

Gregor Townsend picked a number of new faces for this year’s Six Nations squad but few will be quite as unknown to their teammates as Haining. But with the squad in Spain this week ahead of their opening fixture against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, as well as 15 of his Edinburgh club-mates in the squad alongside him, Haining is settling in nicely although there has, he admits, been a lot to take on board.

“The boys have been really opening and welcoming, along

with the coaching staff and everyone else who’s involved,” he said.

“It’s obviously quite accelerate d learning when you get in

here – you’ve got to learn everyone’s name, learn all the new players, and

all the different ways that things work. You get that all down pat and that’s

been the biggest challenge so far.

“It’s been easy to settle in given that there are 16 Edinburgh players here.

That’s been great as well, but the Glasgow boys and the Exiles have been

just as welcoming and it’s been good getting to know them.

“It’s been interesting how quickly you have to pick things up. You come into

a new environment and there’s a lot thrown at you in a short amount of time

and as I’ve never been involved in the international set-up I didn’t realise

how quick a turnaround we had to the first game. So it’s been a quick

turnaround but you’ve got everyone there to support you, which makes it a

lot easier.”

Much of Haining’s improvement has, he believes, been as a result of his head coach at Edinburgh, Richard Cockerill. The Englishman is quite a taskmaster but that, says Haining, has helped his game move onto the next level since he arrived at Murrayfield.

“It’s been massive,” he said of the influence of Cockerill.

“He’s got a real tough edge, and the way he’s developed my game in the five months I’ve been here - and the pre-season as well, the conditioning and everything like that - that has played a massive part in the way I’ve played the game and the mental attitude as well. Because he’s got a pretty hard edge in training - I think that’s helped a lot.”