A FORMER North Berwick RFC second row has admitted he “could not believe” his call-up to the Scotland squad.

Lewis Carmichael was invited to train alongside the senior Scotland squad by new head coach Gregor Townsend ahead of their summer tour.

The Edinburgh Rugby man, who is on loan at Australian side Western Force, flew to Singapore, where he helped the national team prepare for the win over Italy last Saturday.

He then travelled with the squad to Sydney and watched from the stands as the Scots recorded a first-ever win over Australia in the city.

The 22-year-old former North Berwick High School pupil has since been released from the squad as Scotland travel to Fiji, with Carmichael heading back to Perth, Australia, to continue his Western Force loan deal.

He looked back on his two weeks in camp, and told Courier Sport: “I got the call from Gav Scott, the Scotland team manager, about 10 days before I went into camp with them. To be honest I couldn’t believe it, I was a very happy man after that phone call.

It was great to be involved with the squad during their tour and to be there when they beat Italy and Australia was very special.”

Although the highly-rated former Melrose player did not make it on to the pitch, he admitted his taste of the senior international set-up had given him encouragement moving forward.

He added: “It just makes you hungry to be a part of it again.

“I spoke to Gregor [Townsend] and the forwards coach Dan [McFarland] and they told me they were very happy with how I’m doing out here in Australia and just [to] keep working hard when I get back to Edinburgh, and that’s what I intend to do.”

And Townsend, who succeeded Vern Cotter as the national team head coach, added on the young lock: “We’ve learned a bit more about him and it’s been a very good experience for him being involved on match day in two successful test matches. He now has an opportunity to build on what he’s learned over the summer and make a big impact at Edinburgh Rugby next season.”