COUNTY rugby starlet Lewis Carmichael said his Edinburgh Rugby debut was "a great experience", despite the club falling to a 28-14 defeat.

The second row, from North Berwick, replaced Scotland A cap Fraser McKenzie with little over 10 minutes to go against two-time European champions Munster on Saturday evening.

Despite the result, the 21-year-old was delighted to have made his professional bow.

He told Courier Sport: "The result was not the best but it was really good to get on.

"Making my debut at Thomond Park in front of 12,000 fans is something I'll never forget.

"I'm the young one of the five of us, but I would love to get that experience again."

"It has been a long time coming – although this is my first season as a pro I trained with the guys all last season as well – it was great to finally get my first cap."

The former Scotland U20 and Club International cap admitted he had expected to don the yellow and black of Melrose, rather than be among the squad for the trip to Limerick.

He added: "The squad was announced quite late, so we only found out on Thursday morning and we travelled on Friday.

"I had to go to Melrose training on Thursday night and tell them I was on the bench for Edinburgh."

The 6ft 6in forward praised the other locks in the squad, and hopes he is in the mix for the trip to defending champions Connacht tomorrow (Friday).

He said: "I'm learning all the time and it's great to have guys like Gilcho [Grant Gilchrist] and Fraz [McKenzie] to learn from.

"Gilcho is the captain here and he was involved with the World Cup squad last year – he's a world class second row."

The ex-North Berwick High School pupil felt he coped well with the step up as he faced the likes of British and Irish Lions Conor Murray and Keith Earls, and Ireland cap CJ Stander.

"It was obviously a step up, but when you watch it on the TV it looks much faster, but I felt comfortable.

"It's not as massive a step as it seems, but I have been training with the guys for the past season, so I felt ready for it.

"It's actually been a long time coming."

The former North Berwick star feels he has "come on leaps and bounds" since joining the club.

Carmichael has been retained on the bench for the trip to Galway, with ex-Scotland captain Gilchrist returning to lead the side, alongside international colleague Ben Toolis.

Fellow North Berwick ace Chris Dean is also in the side, moving from inside centre to wear the number 13 jersey, but injury rules out Tom Brown.