Taylor: Scotland's future is bright

Edinburgh number eight Simon Taylor believes Scotland are moving in the right direction under coach Matt Williams.

A dismal performance during last season’s RBS 6 Nations saw Scotland take the wooden spoon, finishing bottom of the table with a championship whitewash to show for their efforts.

But genuine encouragement could be taken from their 2-0 series defeat by Australia last month as a patched-up side produced two battling displays full of courage and invention.

“We’re moving in the right direction. We had some inexperienced players in the side and it’s great when they come out of nowhere and play the way they did,” he said.

“You get people who come in and rise to the occasion of international rugby and it’s good to see.”

Williams took over the coaching duties after the World Cup but did not enjoy the best of starts in the Six Nations.

However, Taylor believes the promise Scotland showed on the tour Down Under proves the Australian’s methods are starting to work.

“Everyone rates Matt as a coach. He’s doing a really good job. The performances in Australia were really good and a vast improvement on the Six Nations,” he said.

Taylor missed the tour through injury and is still recovering from the knee ligament strain he suffered against Ireland in March.

He said: “The injury was all down to changing direction – my foot stayed where it was but my knee kept going. It didn’t even happen during a tackle.

“But I’m running again now and just gradually easing back into fitness. I hope to be back in October or November but we’ll have to see how it goes.”

Taylor could return in time to spearhead Edinburgh’s Heineken Cup campaign and the 24-year-old forward has targeted an improvement on last year’s quarter-final finish.

“We did well in the Heineken Cup last time and we want to repeat that. We should be able to take that step forward next season,” he said.

“We’ve been threatening to do it for a while. Some of the players are getting more mature. Doing well in the Heineken Cup is all about learning how to win games.

“The teams who do well, like the Munsters and Llanellis, have got players who have been there a long time. We need that core of experienced guys to take us forward.”