Wait of expectation over for Utterson

Even Aesop might have needed a few large ones to envisage it, but a tortoise clad in tartan will at last catch up with his hero the hare today to form a partnership hoping to catch France on the run. For a little over three years in age may be all that separates Kevin Utterson and Gregor Townsend, but in terms of getting where you want to quickly in life they may as well be from different millennia.

It has taken Utterson eight long years of inching his way through that bowl of porridge known as Scottish rugby to achieve what Townsend did with one sublime flick of those wonderful wrists of his. It was way back in 1993 when Scotland witnessed the first sidesteps of a 19-year-old who was to become their most capped player and although it is huge odds against the 26-year-old racking up even half that collection, Utterson's achievement is no less deserved and probably twice as hard-earned.

For while Townsend was seeing his star rise in England with Northampton, in France with Brive and Castres and in South Africa with the Lions, Utterson was watching his stand still in Scotland. He did represent all the South of Scotland age-groups, mind you, and was selected for the original Border Reivers squad, but then when he scored two tries on his debut for Scotland A and still failed to get a mention at senior level for another three years, Utterson must have feared his chance had gone without ever coming.

"I had a couple of good seasons and I was obviously upset at never getting the chance,'' he admitted. "But I wasn't prepared to give up and throw in the towel. So I just knuckled down and got on with it. I had a few games with Scotland A and started playing for them consistently. That's what I had to do, just carry on playing consistently and my reward would come.''

Playing for the moneymen of Edinburgh brought its own financial rewards, and his reputation increased in value when he played a major role in the famous Heineken Cup double over Northampton in 2001. But it wasn't until he went back to his roots that he truly started blossoming.

No doubt it helped that he joined the newly-formed professional Borders team just as Townsend was also arriving home. The pair hit it off immediately, forging a centre partnership that started rugby folk whispering "Scotland'', and although Utterson was ignored, once more, for last year's autumn internationals, the call he had been waiting for was not far down the line.

When it came, it was out of the blue, being summoned to join the Scotland bench against Ireland and as Brendan Laney was being hauled off, that elusive cap came sharply into focus. But then Utterson was dismayed again, as Ian McGeechan, chasing the game, threw on his Jock of all trades, Townsend, to win his 70th cap. The cruelty was not only felt by the new boy.

"I was really disappointed for Kevin last week,'' Townsend said, "because I was sent on at 12, the position he was supposed to be covering. He was quite down after that and I was quite upset for him as well.''

Missing that final quarter, however, when Ireland scythed through the withered thistle ranks, only worked in Utterson's favour. "I suppose at the back of my mind I thought that things might just have gone right for me in the Irish game,'' he said.

They had, and with McGeechan desperately searching for some new armoury with which to withstand a feared French backlash, the Scotland coach turned to the Borders patrol as his centres. Utterson's day had finally come, his "lifetime ambition'' more apposite than usual as it had taken almost the modern rugby player's lifetime to fulfil. "Nothing comes close to being selected for your country for the first time,'' he said. "I've played against France A a few times and I know exactly what it's like at that level. But I'm under no illusion that it will be a big, big step up to this."

Townsend is similarly under no illusions that Utterson will be up to it, despite McGeechan, the master tactician, reversing their club roles. Utterson has been switched to play inside Townsend today, where, as he confessed – tongue in cheek – that he may just be tempted "to give him a few hospital balls to see how he likes it''.

"I have no worries about Kevin as I know what he's going to do,'' Townsend said. "I know his game very well from playing inside him these past few months, so I should have no problem knowing what to do outside him. Kevin will be in the game early and I'm sure there's a lot of moves that he'll be involved in. Boy, he's deserved his chance.''

And as chances go, they don't come any bigger than the Stade de France. "I've spoken to Kevin about it and I'll try to keep him as relaxed as I can,'' Townsend said. "He's never played in front of anywhere near 80,000 and I've warned him that it'll be some atmosphere. What a place to win your first cap. It could even be worth the wait.''