JIM HAMILTON and Nathan Hines smashed their 18-stone-plus frames into each other as hard as they could and knew they would be fit for Scotland’s RBS 6 Nations game against Ireland.

Mike Blair is confident he is ready to reclaim the Scotland number nine jersey when Ireland visit Murrayfield next Saturday after testing his injured left shoulder against one of the most feared tacklers in world rugby.

Edinburgh back Chris Paterson travels to Poland today to join the Scotland training camp in Spala.