Dave Denton’s appearance off the bench against France was his first for Scotland in more than 18 months and the additional ball carrying power he offers suggests he is a strong contender to make his first Test start in more than two years this weekend.

Whether the imposing back-row forward who at 6’5” and close to 19 stones has become even more distinctive since adopting a new on-field ‘man bun’ hairstyle that has been the source of considerable teasing, is asked to start of again make his presence felt as a replacement, however, he is single-mindedly determined to simply go out and do his job.

In an era in which it has become something of a cliché for coaches to claim that they are looking for full teams of leaders on the pitch and players to respond accordingly in their public utterances, there was something rather refreshing about Denton’s response to the prospect of taking on added responsibility.

“My main focus for the time being is my own performance on the pitch,” he said. “I’m not going to concern myself with too much trying to influence other people’s performances, potentially be a leader and things like that. You sort your own ship out before you try and sort everyone else’s. My job’s simple just get out there, carry and tackle. It doesn’t get any more complicated than that. When I get on the pitch, that’s all I want to do. I feel that I can contribute in that way and I can give us a bit of momentum that we’ll need. It’s exciting for me more than making me anxious.”

That approach reflects the playing style of the 28-year-old, who has made a major impact in the English game since crossing the border at club level three years ago to join Bath, subsequently moving to Worcester Warriors last summer and catching the eye there sufficiently to earn a three year deal with the most prestigious club in the country, Leicester Tigers. He has revelled in the style of rugby and believes it can stand him in good stead ahead of the weekend.

“The physicality of the Premiership was definitely a step up. All the England guys play at that level every week [so] or me to play against a lot of their internationals is great experience,” said Denton.

“I played with George Ford [at Bath] for two years. It gives a great insight into how they want to play. I wouldn’t say I learnt anything more than I would just watching, but it is definitely a different style.”

While Zimbabwe-born Denton is not among those who grew up immersed in the sport’s oldest international rivalry, it is a fixture that has strong associations for him on a personal level. 

“It was one of my favourite moments on a rugby pitch. My first cap was in a World Cup warm-up match [v Ireland in 2011] off the bench, but that felt like a first cap.  It was in the Six Nations, potentially Scottish rugby’s biggest game. I look back on it with fond memories. It would have been better if we’d won and we had a great opportunity to do that, but I really enjoyed the game,” he said.

Scotland were whitewashed that year and while Denton had been part of a winning side on debut the previous summer, he has tasted victory on just 10 occasions in 35 subsequent Tests and had been on the winning side in a championship matches on only three previous occasions, making his return to the international scene doubly satisfying.

“After being away for so long, being able to get back out there… and obviously my first game back being at Murrayfield made it all the more special. So yeah, it was really enjoyable and it was a great weekend, especially because we won as well,” he said.

Absence from involvement has in turn provided an opportunity to assess whether progress has been made since he made his last Scotland start and while they lost just 27-23 in Cardiff that day, as compared with this season’s 34-7 defeat in the Welsh capital, he contended that it has.

“The squad’s very different. The team that played at the weekend is not too dissimilar, but when I came in there were a lot of people that I’d not met before, a lot of young guys that have been coming through and playing really well, that I’d seen on TV but not met, so it is interesting,” he pointed out.

“There’s a different dynamic and for me coming in as a 28-year-old as well - it’s a weird thing for me. I’m used to being the young guy in the squad and I’m not that any more. In terms of the coaches, they’ve changed a lot, but they’ve picked off a lot from where Vern left off as well, which is great. Matt Taylor was here before [and] I’ve worked with Gregor when Andy Robinson was coach. There weren’t any huge surprises, but there are subtle differences that I think have made us better.”

After so many Six Nations disappointment as part of the playing squad, Denton’s spectating experience when Scotland faced England last year was a painful one as he watched the match on television as an English friend’s house. However he believes more recent events will have more of a bearing on this weekend’s match than what happened at Twickenham last year.

“We’ve not really spoken about it,” he said of the 61-point thrashing 
Scotland suffered.

“We’re a different team to the one that went out that time. If anything we’re still hurting a little bit over the Wales game, because that’s more recent. We came out and fixed a few things against France, which is brilliant, but we know we’ve still got another gear to get up to compete and to beat the second-best team in the world.”