EDINBURGH winger Roland Reid insists he can help complete a feel-good week for Scottish rugby and help Scotland A capture the Churchill Cup for the first time.
Hot on the heels of the morale-boosting 26-14 win over Argentina, Reid knows they can keep the smile on the faces of Scottish rugby supporters if Rob Moffat's men can overcome a much-fancied England Saxons team in the final tomorrow.
For that to
happen Scotland A will need to step up several gears from the hit-and-miss group wins over Canada and Argentina Pumas.
The Saxons – who feature Guinness Premiership stars such as Matt Banahan, Ryan Lamb and Nick Abendanon – look in ominous form after steamrollering their way to comfortable victories over USA and Ireland A.
And 29-year-old Reid maintains it will be the result and not the performance which will count when they clash with the Auld Enemy at Chicago's Toyota Park.
He said: "The Churchill Cup is a new experience to some of the boys here and it is a great learning ground.
"Part of it is getting really good performances out of the youngsters but we want to combine that with getting results. There's no better place to be learning your trade than in a winning side.
"You can see how many guys who are in Argentina at the moment have used this tournament as a stepping stone.
"But what matters for us is getting that win.
"We feel there's still room for improvement.
"Some things went well but we know we can up our game in several areas.
"There's a great atmosphere here and the intensity of the game is really high – especially when you play the Saxons."
At 6ft 4ins and nearly 17 stone, there can be no doubt that Reid offers a huge physical presence on the wing, but he originally made his name as back-row forward.
Starting out at South Africa's Golden Lions, Reid went on to win caps for the South African under-19 and under-21 teams before he moved to Glasgow, where he first came to the attention of then Scottish coach Ian McGeechan.
Reid's Scottish ancestry starts with his Greenock-born father while his uncle – Don Kitchenbrand – turned out for Rangers in the 1950s.
Named in the 2001 Six Nations squad, Reid won two full caps before arriving at Edinburgh last year via spells with London Irish and Leeds Tykes.
And it was under coaches Moffat and Andy Robinson that Reid has been converted into an out-and-out winger.
His season, though, was cruelly interrupted by injury as he had to sit out for three months with a torn hamstring – an absence Reid insists means that the Edinburgh supporters have yet to see the best of him.
He said: "The injury was incredibly frustrating. I had worked extremely hard to get myself in a position to challenge for the first team but then it was back to square one.
"I need to establish myself in the Edinburgh team next season and anything else I achieve will be a bonus.
"My focus is now purely on the wing.
"I came to Edinburgh as a flanker but Andy Robinson and especially Rob Moffat recognised the fact I could have a bigger impact on the wing. I have played there before so it is not like I was completely converted but they encouraged me to go there and I have really enjoyed it. The game has evolved so much that positions are not rigid like they once were.
"You have to be versatile all round the pitch and that means wingers doing flankers' job and vice versa."
And Reid's personal ambitions are matched by his desire to see Edinburgh improve on last year's campaign.
Despite the off-the-field turmoil which marked the start of the season, new coach Robinson guided the Gunners to a fourth-place finish in the Magners League.
Success in the Heineken Cup though remained elusive as they suffered another group-stage elimination. But with next season's final being held at Murrayfield, Reid insists there has never been a greater incentive for Edinburgh to end their Heineken hoodoo.
He said: "The real challenge for us is to get to the final at Murrayfield. Playing in our home town is a massive motivation to really drive on all the players.
"It would be very special, not just for Edinburgh, but for all of Scottish rugby if we could get there. Last year we had a really tough group with Toulouse, Leicester and Leinster but we held our own. There really wasn't much between the sides and next season we will not fear anyone.
"Finishing fourth last year was a tremendous achievement but it is a marker for us to build on next season. We knew exactly what he wanted us to do and now we are really looking forward to the next campaign."
Scotland A: Jones (Newcastle Falcons), Robertson (Edinburgh), Dewey (Ulster), MacRae (Edinburgh), Reid (Edinburgh), Ross (Saracens), Gregor (Glasgow Warriors), Kalman (Glasgow Warriors), Thomson (Glasgow Warriors) (c), Young (Leicester Tigers), Pringle (Edinburgh), Turner (Glasgow Warriors), Eddie (Glasgow Warriors), MacDonald (Edinburgh), Swindall (Glasgow Warriors). Substitutes: Kelly (Edinburgh), Corsar (Rotherham), Dunbar (Leeds Carnegie), Newlands (Edinburgh), McMillan (Wasps), Blair (Edinburgh), Thompson (Edinburgh).
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