SIMON Berghan had easily his best game in a Scotland shirt last week at Murrayfield. Indeed, there is a good argument that it was his most telling performance since the Edinburgh prop arrived in this country from his native New Zealand.

It was all the more remarkable since the 27-year-old was returning from an enforced lay-off and participating in a game that even he believed might be beyond him. Berghan was banned for six weeks having been adjudged to have stamped on the head of Glasgow’s Fraser Brown during the 1872 Cup clash during the Christmas period.

However, such was the impact of his display against France that he looks a near-certain starter against England next weekend. But despite that, his suspension isn’t yet a distant memory.

“It was brutal to be honest,” Berghan reflected. “If I go back to the Six Nations last year, I didn’t perform really well back at Edinburgh afterwards and so it was a really big thing for me to go into the autumn and play well and then build on that, and the Glasgow game then put a big curve-ball in there.

“You can believe whatever you like but it was a genuine accident. But the result was I clipped Fraser on the head and had to take the six weeks on the chin. It was a speed-bump but I did try to use the break to get better at other parts of my game.”

While others indulged in a character assassination of the Edinburgh tight-head, his appeal was helped by character references from others.

“I spoke to him [Brown] afterwards and we know each other reasonably well, and everyone who knows me as a player knows that that’s not in my character. Unfortunately, when you look at it, it doesn’t look that good, but Fraser was good and wrote a letter, as did Gregor [Townsend], but it was an outcome-based decision – the outcome was that my foot clipped his head – and I had to take that.”

No wonder then Berghan believed his Six Nations ambitions were at an end.

“It was the worst timing ever. I got a bit of luck with other front-rowers being injured, and got my opportunity against France, but it was terrible timing because my plan had been to have good form off the back of the autumn, play well for Edinburgh to run into the Six Nations, and it didn’t work out like that. I didn’t get that opportunity. But it sort of worked out against France.”

Having overcome the French, Berghan is relishing a pop at England, and maybe even some revenge for 12 months ago.

“It would be brilliant wouldn’t it? Any game against England’s brilliant.

I played last year off the bench and the result wasn’t great. But I think we’re in a better place this year, we’re at home and it would mean the world to me if

I got the opportunity.

“We’ve got a few players coming back from injury which is good for the squad, and bolsters competition, but I’m going to put my hand up every

time anyway,” said Berghan, knowing WP Nel and Zander Fagerson aren’t too far away from fitness after injury.

“We haven’t spoken a lot yet about England but I’d imagine Gregor will be speaking about a better start, to start fast and get points on the board early. We’ll get a good look at England next week but it’s going to be a big old match isn’t it?

“They’re a good squad and are really well drilled. I remember coming off the pitch last year and thinking ‘far out, that team was really well drilled’. It felt like they didn’t seem to put a foot wrong, which basically tells us you have to take every chance against them; you have to play well, make chances and take them.

“But against any top team that’s what you’ve got to do. They’ve got this thing about being a big tight five, but the French have that as well and we played well against the French so that’s not really a concern for us. It’s about us putting our game out there and imposing ourselves on it.”

Berghan may be given another chance to lock horns with Mako Vunipola, who he faced at Twickenham, and who will have had some serious preparation in the last week after England rented Georgia for scrummaging practice.

“This time last year I was a new face and it was a tough Six Nations for me actually. The whole thing was quite overwhelming. But I managed him [Vunipola] reasonably well.

“Whenever there are scrums on your five-metre line it’s tough, but I thought we scrummaged well against the French and they are renowned as a good pack. They have Joe Marler available again and so we’ll do our analysis on all of them.”