Weir boosted in bid to be the perfect 10 for Dublin

when Russell was injured against France, and Weir insisted that, far from being worried he would drop further down the pecking order, he was delighted by the ease with which his Glasgow Warriors team-mate had slotted into the team. “I was just hugely proud of his performance.

“A guy who has not played pretty much the whole tournament at 10 steps up and shows how natural a ball-player he is. It was great for me to see him run the attack.

“Being a playmaker at 12, he’s always chatting and orchestrating play anyway. It’s tough on him not being selected, but it’s an opportunity for me.

“The coaches have given me confidence this week. They’ve watched my Glasgow footage and are happy where I am and with my development over the last month or so. I feel confident in my game at the minute and just need to back it up come Saturday.

“I think of myself as a hardworking individual, always trying to improve on the field,” Weir continued when asked if he thought his game had improved and become more varied of late. “There has been a good shift in the right direction, but it’s still early days. You can always improve, and I’m striving to get better every day.”

At 24, Weir still has a lot of rugby ahead of him, and should have his development accelerated when he moves to Edinburgh, where, unlike at Glasgow, he will be the first-choice stand-off. In time, the switch could even come to be seen as the making of him.

Weir himself, however, is reluctant to look that far ahead at present, given there is one more game of the Championship still to play and the PRO12 title to fight for with the Warriors. “I have a huge challenge with Glasgow and a title to try and defend and push into the top four,” he continued.

“I’m still quite young and still have a lot of learning to do, but my play has evolved at Glasgow. Hopefully under Hodgy and Alan [coaches Duncan Hodge and Alan Solomons] at Edinburgh I can continue my development.”