Chris Dean’s inclusion in the Scotland squad for next week’s Six Nations Championship training camp represented the only immediate reward for the run of form that has won them the 1872 Challenge Cup, move to second spot in their Pro14 conference and within range of the unlikeliest of achievements by reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup.

There was an element of needs must about the opportunities presented to hookers Dave Cherry, Jake Kerr and Grant Stewart and their fellow front-row forward D’Arcy Rae has been in or around national squads ever since his former Glasgow Warriors coach Gregor Townsend took charge, while Sam Johnson and Gary Graham were both called into the squad at different stages in the autumn. Dean, however, was not seen as a contender at that stage and as recently as earlier this week Richard Cockerill, his team’s head coach, suggested that while he and midfield partner James Johnstone would do a job for the national team if given the chance, but that he thought it unlikely that either would get it.

In fairness, for all his diverse qualities, Cockerill is no Nostradamus when it comes to his players’ prospects, as evidenced by both Blair Kinghorn and Murray McCallum winning caps soon after he suggested they were not yet ready for the Test arena last season and Dean is just the latest to prove him wrong in a way that will delight him.

In bringing him into his squad, Townsend explained that Dean had begun to make a stronger case for himself when he switched from outside to inside centre last season.

“He really impressed us last year when he made the move from 13 to 12. It suited his strengths,” Scoland’s head coach observed. “Getting more touches of the ball, over the gain line carries. He’s improved his defence a lot in the past 12 months and that might be down to that change of position, the work he is doing with the Edinburgh coaches. He’s also shown that he can be an excellent passer. At the weekend against Toulon I thought he made some very good passes off his left hand.”

Most important, however, is surely the way he has stood up to pressure.

“He’s played in these big games for Edinburgh over the past six weeks and performed really well, up against direct rivals in the 1872 Cup games and playing well, going to Toulon and having a very good game like most of the Edinburgh fifteen did so he’s earned his position,” Townsend acknowledged.

“We look forward to seeing how gets along with a lot of players who are coming from Glasgow in that backline. We see him being able to take that next step up to Test rugby.”

He effectively comes into the squad in place of Alex Dunbar, previously seen as a player the Scotland management felt they could rely on, but perhaps the most surprising omission from this 40 man squad, having played in three of Scotland’s four autumn Tests, but been used sparingly by Glasgow since.

“That is partly down to a lack of game time since November. There were a couple of things we were keen to see from Alex and whether it’s been through injury - he’s picked up a couple since then - or not being involved in terms of selection the past two weeks with Glasgow, we are looking for him to get opportunities to play and get back into the form that he was in prior to November,” Townsend explained.