Hoyland aims to be as deadly as fellow wing man Darcy

DAMIEN HOYLAND admits the try-scoring exploits of his Edinburgh team-mate Darcy Graham are spurring him on to make his mark against the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday. Hoyland has scored two himself in the two opening games of the new United Rugby Championship season, showing that he’s back to his best again after an injury-plagued campaign last time round. But even he has been left in the shade by fellow Scotland winger Graham, who touched down twice in the 44-6 rout of the Dragons at home and then chalked up a superb hat-trick in the narrow 33-31 defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria. Head coach Mike Blair will be needing both men firing on all cylinders if his team are to pull off what would be a shock victory against the reigning champions. And Hoyland, 28, acknowledges that a friendly rivalry between himself and Graham will do the capital side no harm as they seek to make their attacking game pay off in South Africa. ‘Nothing has been communicated but there’s a lot of competition there to score the most tries,’ confessed Hoyland. ‘Darcy has been incredible. He’s in such good form. He brings out the best in me as I want to have the same amount of tries as him. ‘We’ve not had any chats about a proper competition yet, but maybe that will have to come up at some point. It would be unfair to start a competition now when Darcy’s three tries ahead already! He’s got an unfair head start if we’re going to start any bets. I’m going to have to say to the others to stop passing to him all the time and give me more of the ball.’ Hoyland feels the attacking style fostered by Blair is the most exciting he has experienced at the club since joining Edinburgh eight years ago. They ran in eight touchdowns against the Dragons and another four in the defeat to the Bulls to give them a club record of 12 in their first two games. ‘It’s awesome being part of this team,’ said Hoyland (pictured). ‘We create a lot of opportunities. We’ve started with an exciting brand of rugby and I’m enjoying being part of that. We all stick to the game plan, which is to play quite expansively, so it’s important that whoever is available plays that kind of style. ‘We’re fortunate enough to have players who can do that across the whole squad as we have great strength in depth.’ Hoyland’s confidence is high heading into Saturday’s match after making a big impression in the league campaign so far. That’s in stark contrast to the previous campaign when he hardly featured until later in the season following a knee injury.

Once his recovery was complete, he burst back on to the scene with three tries for Scotland ‘A’ in their 45-5 win over Chile in Santiago in June.

‘I’m delighted that I’ve started the season injury-free,’ he said. ‘I’m just loving being able to train and play after so many seasons of not being available. ‘It’s definitely a win for me just to be fit. I’m quite hard on myself but I feel I’ve got a lot to give. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.’ Hoyland believes the introduction of the four South African sides last season has enhanced the URC and driven up standards. The Stormers have won 12 successive games dating back to last season, which sums up the daunting task Blair’s men face this weekend. ‘The South African teams have been a great addition and they’ve made it more competitive,’ said Hoyland.