European Cup winner Don Mackinnon today trained his sights on a first Scotland cap and the chance of a regular reunion with the man who guided him to the brink of a Test career.

The former Northampton flanker, who helped the Midlands club to their Heineken success over Munster before heading north to join the Edinburgh Reivers, is hoping to make the breakthrough into the international arena against the All Blacks later this month. But first he has to persuade Scotland coach Ian McGeechan, who recruited him to the Northampton payroll three years ago in his time there as director of rugby, that he is ready for the step up onto the big stage.

The affable Australian, Mackinnon was actually born in New Zealand but his family emigrated to Melbourne when he was only a year old, has come a long way since arriving at Franklin's Gardens following a six-month period playing in France four years ago.

His previous experience of Super 10 rugby with Queensland was enough to convince McGeechan to give him a trial on that occasion, and the intervening years have seen him develop into a versatile regular in Northampton's multi-talented back row. Much of the groundwork for the club's European success was laid by McGeechan in his four years at the helm, with the evolvement of a style geared towards lifting the big prizes.

As he trooped off at the end of Scotland's first training session at their Bay of Islands base yesterday then, Mackinnon was visibly delighted to be reunited with his mentor's methods. ``I haven't heard his exact words for a long time but to actually hear it all again was great,'' he said.

"It is just like getting out of bed in the morning, it is just natural at the moment, that is how good it feels. I am a first-timer on tour but not to this style of rugby, because I have been doing it for four years, and I am really looking to push for a cap on this trip."
"I know every other person in the squad will feel the same, but especially after the season I have had, being part of a club that has gone through the roof, I look at my career and think that this could be the time for me."

At 29, Mackinnon is hardly a spring chicken in rugby circles, but having opted to leave the European champions to play his rugby in his father's native city of Edinburgh, hopes to prove himself worthy of joining the recent spate of Scottish southern hemisphere recruits.

"Hopefully being part of the Reivers team and being in Scotland will show people I am loyal to the country," he added. "It was a major attraction to be a part of Geech's plans again, and this tour is hopefully the start of it."

The tourists face a tough opener against an invitation Northland Vikings XV in Whangarei on Friday, with the hosts including six former All Blacks in their line-up. Mackinnon believes it will provide an ideal taster for what awaits them in the coming weeks. "It is a very strong side, but it doesn't matter who you play, it could be their second team and it would still be a strong one,'' he added. "But that is great from our point of view. We need games like this, and the harder the better because it brings players on quicker."