Revitalised Adam Hastings is hoping he has done enough to be named in the Scotland 23 for Sunday’s showdown with world champions South Africa.
After forcing his way back into Gregor Townsend’s plans for the summer tour of the Americas following 18 months of injury troubles that pushed him to the periphery of the squad, the Glasgow stand-off enjoyed his first Murrayfield outing in two years when he started Saturday’s 57-17 victory over Fiji.
With Finn Russell established as Scotland’s first-choice fly-half, Hastings has managed to jump back ahead of Edinburgh’s Ben Healy, who did not make the squad for the Autumn Nations Series, in the pecking order although he has renewed competition from his versatile Glasgow colleague Tom Jordan, who made his debut off the bench.
Bath talisman Russell, who was unavailable on Saturday as the match took place outside the international window, is set to be back in the number 10 jersey against the formidable Boks at the weekend, but Hastings hopes his promising display against Fiji can help him secure a place in the matchday squad.
“Yeah, I hope so,” he said. “You want to play every week, so fingers crossed. But I know the depth of 10 is some of the best it’s ever been at the moment. TJ came off the bench on Saturday and I thought he was brilliant at 15. He was absolutely magnificent on his debut.”
Hastings made his own debut against Canada in the summer of 2018 and has gone on to win 31 caps. Saturday’s match was just his 15th as a starter, however, as he has generally been restricted to the role of understudy as a result of Russell’s form and status.
Asked what it was like to compete for a start against one of the greatest players Scotland has produced, Hastings said: “Yeah, obviously very hard. But look, it’s just about controlling what you can control. When you get given an opportunity, try and take it.”
Hastings enjoyed being back on the Murrayfield turf on Saturday for the first time since the Fiji last visited Edinburgh in November 2022.
8️⃣ tries in 6️⃣0️⃣ seconds 🏴
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) November 2, 2024
What a start to The Famous Grouse Nations Series.#AsOne | @autumnnations pic.twitter.com/t55EiF9O8U
“It was amazing,” he said. “I was thinking to myself when the team was named how long it had been, and it was two years. It had just been two years of graft, and I didn’t know when it might come again. I was just thrilled to play again and ecstatic with the result.
“I was happy with my performance and I thought the team was brilliant. We executed things well.”
Hastings knows Scotland face a “massive” step up in opposition on Sunday as they face a South Africa side who defeated them 18-3 in Marseille 14 months ago on their way to a second successive World Cup triumph.
“We’ve got a lot of belief in this group and what we can do,” said the former Gloucester fly-half.
“We’ve had good results in big games, but I think you’ve got to pay respect to South Africa, the double world champs. They’re playing really good stuff at the moment, so it’ll be a step up.”
