Scrum-half Henry Pyrgos, who was vice-captain at England 2015 and will seek to add to his 27 Scotland caps to date  Rugby World Cup: UK Cypriot Henry Pyrgos drafted in for Scotland , the last of which came in the national team’s home win over Australia in 2017.

The SRU said that Pyrgos is scheduled to arrive in Japan on Thursday and take his place in the 31-man group preparing to face Samoa at the Kobe Misaki Stadium on Monday.

A Cypriot surname, velvet Dorset tones that are the perfect frame for his natural eloquence and a schooling at two of England’s most prestigious rugby institutions.

These are not, on the face of it, foremost criteria for the captain of the Scottish rugby team.

But it was mother Fiona, Grangemouth-born to Dundonian parents, who ensured her lad always retained – or was at least never permitted to forget – a tangible link to his roots.

From their home in London, Fiona’s mother and father rushed north so their daughter could be born on Scottish soil, and it was she who sewed the first tartan seeds.

Pyrgos always revered rugby. As a boy, he couldn’t get enough, devouring match after televised match – even then a veritable coach’s dream.

Speaking to those that shaped his development reveals telling glimpses of a young man whose ravenous hunger for rugby and studious approach to the game distinguished him from his peers.