The Scots were whitewashed in the recent RBS 6 Nations Championships and begin the rebuilding process with a trip down under which will see them play six games including three Tests.

And the 28-year-old Edinburgh lock, named as successor to Chris Paterson, is hoping the trip will herald a new dawn for Scottish rugby.

He said: I can promise you now that every one of the guys I have spoken to and myself included, are very excited about the trip.

It is like the start of a new era and I just cant wait to get on the plane and see the door close.

The confidence is still high in the squad at the moment. I know we did not get a win in the 6 Nations Championships but we played well in patches and if we can stick an 80 minute period together the way we know we can play, then we will get a win and hopefully things will snowball from there.

We have got a really talented bunch of players, young boys who are strong and keen and although I obviously dont want to get knocked out of the team, I am looking forward to young players coming through and challenging me.

The most important thing we can get from the tour is to show progress.

We are looking to try and get guys who dont know how hard it is to train and play in games like these and to get up there and challenge the older players to get into the Test teams.