Nigel Carolan believes Kyle Steyn deserves to start for Scotland on the wing with the Autumn internationals fast approaching. 

Gregor Townsend is expected to name his squad for the four-test series late next month with Scotland welcoming Fiji to Murrayfield in the opening game on November 2nd. Steyn will undoubtedly be in Townsend's squad but he faces strong competition for a starting place from Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham - both widely regarded world class wingers.

The Edinburgh duo are amongst Scotland’s leading try scorers in history with Van der Merwe - who praised Steyn last week - holding that accolade but Glasgow Warriors attack coach Carolan insists his captain should receive more recognition for his consistent excellence. 

“I'm probably a little bit biased as I see how hard Kyle works,” Carola admitted when asked if Steyn should start for Scotland. “He's obviously in our leadership group. He pushes the standards really highly but for him it starts with himself. He works hard on his own game and it's not just X Factor. The fact he's on the end of a couple of tries at the weekend just shows how hard he works. But the nuts and bolts of his game are in place too. His high ball skills are exceptionally good. He works really hard.

“He empties out the short side to make himself available. On the other side of the field he pops up. I just think he's got a package in his game that has a lot of threats. With the ball in hand he's excellent. His high ball is good as I said. He has that kick in the game as well. I'm quite biased in where I see him. I just think he's got a lot more strings on his bow.

“I think at international level it's great to be at the end of tries and having that X Factor but having his work rate and the consistency of his performance I think it's got to turn heads and it's got to make the national coaches take more interest.” 

After losing their URC opener to Ulster, Glasgow returned to winning ways on Friday night against Benetton in their first competitive game since being crowned champions last season.

It was a relatively even contest until Scott Scrafton was sent off for a dangerous high tackle on Adam Hastings just before half-time but Glasgow eventually ran in six tries against a strong Italian side that Carolan believes could be in contention come the end of the URC season. 

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“Overall I think we're heading in the right direction,” Carolan added. “I know the result didn't go our way against Ulster but there were glimpses in that game which I thought from an attacking perspective we were very good. 

“We had a lot of work there but I thought against Benetton - they are a gritty side. I still think they're going to be one of the teams coming into the season that will be in the hunt. I thought that once we got our flow, even before they started losing some players to cards, I thought there were some good signs that we're heading in the right direction.”

“I think with the squad that they've assembled, even when their internationals are away, there's a lot of strength there. There's a lot of really good foreigners and some good young Italian players coming through. I can see them definitely being in the play-offs or if not closer to top four come the end. They've had a really good record at home.

“I know they drew last week to Scarlets there but I still think they're a quality side. They've invested a huge amount financially into their squad. I still think they're one of the teams that there's a lot that they're going to prove over the course of the season.”

Hastings showed some classy touches before failing to reemerge for the second half after sustaining a nasty shoulder to the head in the red card incident. Hastings and George Horne are going through their HIA recovery protocols but could face Cardiff on Friday with Carolan delighted at the former’s first-half display.

“He is fine,” Carolan admitted “He was just sparked but was initially fine and he was happy to play on but I think he took a fair belt and justifiably it was a red card and no arguments there from either side.

“It was a pity because I thought he was directing traffic in our attack really well. He was changing direction. He was mixing the game up really well. He showed some really good touches, particularly for that first score off that line out.

“His pass was just on the money. I was pleased to see him out there in his first start. He's shown some signs that he's going to be a right tussle with him and Tom Jordan for our 10 position there and even Duncan Weir did reasonably well when he came on. We've got three competitive 10s and he's definitely got some sprinkle dust there.”