U20s 6N: Scotland v Wales: Oliver Duncan makes the most of time on the sidelines

“This is my second year in the senior academy,” he explains. “In my first year, when I tore the labrum in my shoulder twice, it was a big blow. I struggled a lot mentally just because there were so many setbacks. I powered through though and turned it into a weight-gain and muscle-build program. I put on some weight, built some strength in the gym lower-body wise, and all is well.

“You can either just go through the motions and try and get back, or you can turn it into something necessary and meaningful. I came into the academy with a 160kg squat and then after the shoulder I was up to about 190kgs, with the hammy I was sitting at about 120kg with my benchpress and now I’m up to about 155kgs. So, I turned them into good muscle-building programs, and didn’t waste the time.

"My dad helped me through it a lot. He kind of helped me push on and not give up. There were some dark times where I was just like: 'I can’t really be arsed doing this again' – especially when I’d done it the second time, but I managed to push through and get there in the end.”

Duncan adds that taking on more away from rugby this season also helped him cope with being out of action after that hamstring tear.

"At the moment I’m doing a couple of coaching development courses, so I’m keeping myself busy now, which is good because last year I should have probably done more – it was kind of just rehab, go home, play on the PS4. You do get jealous sitting on the sidelines, thinking: 'Damn, I want to be on that pitch.' It’s just part of rugby, I suppose. You’re going to be injured across the career, so you’ve just got to turn it into something good rather than just sit there.”

After returning to action just in time to play the final 30 minutes against Italy at the start of the Six Nations, Duncan then got 22 minutes against Ireland in round two, before playing the full 80 against England last time out, and he will once again start at blindside flanker against Wales this weekend, alongside captain Freddy Douglas and Reuben Logan in a powerful and dynamic back-row which will have a key role to play if Scotland are to end their 11 match losing streak.

"My first game, I was blowing a wee bit to be fair, because the contact element of rugby is so different from running up and down on the sidelines,” he says. “So, I kind of had to work really hard in getting that kind of contact conditioning to where it needs to be for the next games against Ireland and England. But I think my fitness has come a long way, not just from running on the sidelines, but I’ve been working with Fergus Pringle [Scotland Under-20s’ forwards coach] a lot on our big days, just doing contact conditioning after the sessions, trying to just build on what I’ve already got.”

The growth mindset he showed whilst injured has also been evident in how he’s enjoyed adding a few feathers to his bow in terms of game-play over the last six weeks.

"I’ve always loved the ball-carrying side of things, and now I’m working hard on getting my defence better,” he explains. “Before my injury, I wouldn’t call myself a big defender, but I am chasing it a wee bit more now. I’m trying to become more of an all-round player rather than just ball-carrying.

“And I’m loving the line-out as well at the moment. They’ve put me up a fair bit, especially in that England game … Ferg [Pringle] loves line-outs and he”s made me love line-outs as well!”

“I just think what we’re looking for now is an 80-minute performance. We finished really well in the Ireland and Italy games, we started really well against England, so if we can just have an 80-minute performance on Friday, we’ll do really well