A lessening of antipathy towards exiles as a result of regime change has offered Edinburgh’s Juan Pablo Socino a chance of a return to his national side and the centre believes the timing of his move to Edinburgh has boosted his chances of getting into the reckoning in time for next year’s World Cup.

While there is evidence that his native Argentina is beginning to benefit from the decision to concentrate on homegrown talent with the Jaguares having reached the Super Rugby play-offs, while the Pumas won two matches in the International Championship for the first time, defeating both the Springboks and the Wallabies, there have been indications of a change of policy since Mario Ledesma, their former captain who spent much of his career in France, took over as their head coach in the summer. Having joined Edinburgh from Newcastle in the summer, then, Socino knows the forthcoming Champions Cup campaign, immediately ahead of the Pumas forthcoming visit to Murrayfield, represents a chance to catch the eye.

“Obviously when you play for your country you want to play again,” said the 30-year-old centre. “It’s a bit different because the last time I played after the World Cup they changed the rules and they weren’t going to pick overseas players any more, so I knew at the time that wasn’t going to be an option any more because I was happy where I was in the UK. Now they’ve opened it up a little bit more, obviously I’m hoping that my performances at the club and playing European rugby can help me get back into the team.

“They’ve only done front-rows at the moment, Figallo, Gaston Cortes who’s playing for Leicester and players like that, but obviously that just shows it’s a bit more open at the minute, so hopefully that will bringchances to all of us playing abroad.

“It’s happened in the past that there might be some injuries and they might invite you to train and get the chance to see a bit closer what you’re actually doing, maybe get some footage or actually pop in to see you train and what sort of state you’re in health wise, if you’re fit and looking good, so you never know.”

Well-travelled in the course of his career, Socino spent time in French rugby with Dax and, while he did not face Saturday’s opponents Montpellier during his time there, he reckons that experience stands him in good stead ahead of this Champions Cup campaign.

“French clubs tend to play a bit more loose, a bit less structured. That can sometimes be seen as a weakness and sometimes as an advantage, so we need to bear that in mind when we go into the game,” he observed.

Playing in the Champions Cup for the first time since it was re-branded five years ago, Edinburgh are ranks outsiders in a pool which also includes three-time European champions Toulon, as well as Socino’s former club Newcastle, where his younger brother Santiago is still on the books, but the newcomer believes they are very much on the up, impressed as he has been by new boss Richard Cockerill.

“My contract was coming towards the end and I was weighing up the options, whether to stay in the Prem or whether to take on a new challenge coming to the Pro14, a new city, new country and it was really exciting,” he explained. “I knew what the team was about, all the changes that had been made with Cockers coming in. That was quite important for me. For me it was more where he wanted to be as a club and I just wanted to be part of that, putting the team and the city where he thinks it belongs.”