Roddy Grant, the 21 year old Scotland 7s forward, is today named as recipient of this season's John Macphail scholarship.
And the Heriot's and National Academy player hopes to follow in the footsteps of another young openside who used the scholarship opportunity as a stepping stone to the coveted Scotland jersey.
The scholarship will enable Grant - who recovered from reconstructive knee surgery at the start of the season to return to the international 7s circuit - to spend his summer playing club rugby in Auckland, New Zealand.
Grant, whose grandfather and great-uncle were both international referees, and who played age-grade water-polo for South Africa, said: "This is amazing news to learn that I was lucky enough to be chosen for this scholarship. After a long hard slog and disappointments with injury to have this on the horizon now is an unbelievable feeling."
The first recipient of the scholarship was John Barclay, then a fresh-faced school-leaver from Dollar Academy in 2005. Barclay blossomed playing club rugby in Wellington, New Zealand and the experience provided the impetus for him to win a professional contract with Glasgow Warriors and, eventually, make his Scotland debut against the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup last September.
Grant added: "It puts it into perspective when you see what John has achieved. I know this scholarship will benefit me and I'm just so enthusiastic to get out there."
John Macphail won two caps for Scotland as a hooker against England in 1949 and South Africa in 1951. In his business career he was chief executive then chairman of the Edrington Group, a private company that is owned by the Robertson Trust.
Mr Macphail died in the summer of 2004 and his family and the trustees were keen to establish a scholarship in his memory.
Duncan Munro, Director, The Robertson Scholarship Trust, said: "The Trust is delighted to provide a further opportunity for a talented, young Scottish player to experience an intensive 12 weeks of rugby in New Zealand. We congratulate Roddy on his selection as the fourth John Macphail Rugby Scholar and look forward to following his progress during the course of the summer as he trains and plays with the Auckland University Club."
The club is no stranger to Scots. It provided a welcome home away from home to Gavin Hastings when he enjoyed a summer there during his early career.
The former Scotland and British Lions captain said: "It was a wonderful experience for me to go to the Auckland University club just after the 1987 World Cup.
"To play in New Zealand gives you an insight into their culture and you quickly learn just how intense their rugby is. It was very much the right time in my career to experience that.
"John Barclay clearly learned just what is required if you want to perform well on the rugby field and I wish Roddy all the best and hope he benefits as much from the opportunity."
Stephen Gemmell, National Academy Manager, said: "We are delighted that Roddy has been chosen by our national academy and age-grade coaches as the recipient of this award. We hope he will gain as much from the experiences as the previous recipients."
The previous winners of the Macphail Scholarship were:
2005 - John Barclay
2006 - Graham Hogg
2007 - Kevin Bryce