Blair took over the captaincy of the side in the enforced absence of regular skipper Jason White and responded by leading Scotland to a well-deserved victory in the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield.

His all-round performances were of an exceptionally high standard and make him a leading candidate for one of the scrum-half berths on next year's Lions tour to South Africa.

Southwell told Edinburgh's website: "As a teammate both with Scotland and Edinburgh, and also as a friend, it was great to see Mike lift the Calcutta Cup and you could see how proud he was to be doing that.

"He has been a great servant for both club and country and for him to be named captain in Jason’s absence was a pretty special occasion for him. He has backed up that with some decent performances; not just in the RBS 6 Nations, but also throughout the year.

"He has gone on to another level with his performances and ultimately when your captain is doing that then it brings the rest of the team on. Hopefully when we resume the league programme this week then it will be business as usual for him and he will perform to the same level."

Southwell returns to action with Edinburgh in the league clash with Connacht at Murrayfield on Friday determined to help his side enjoy a good end to the season.

He said: "Hopefully we can push for a good finish in the league; we have got six games left and we can hopefully end the season on a high note. With the matches we’ve got left, there is no reason why we can’t string some good performances together and give it our best shot.

"Over previous seasons, we have come back from the 6 Nations and not performed as well as we would have liked to have done. That is something we are desperate not to repeat and we want to peak at the right stage of the season.

"As a result, everyone wants to put in a big performance and to show that Edinburgh are a force to be reckoned with."