Next Saturday’s Rainbow Cup clash against Ulster will Edinburgh last match on the international pitch at Murrayfield before switching homes during the summer to the recently completed 7800 capacity stadium which has been custom-built on the back pitches of the campus, and second-row Jamie Hodgson says the team is ready to mark the occasion in style.

It has been a frustrated campaign for the capital men and, with no real prospect of making the Rainbow Cup Final, their two remaining matches – they also play the Scarlets away on June 13 – are effectively dead-rubbers. But Hodgson insists his side won’t lack motivation as they look to bounce back from back-to-back defeats against arch-rivals Glasgow in their two most recent outings.

“It’s our last game at BT Murrayfield so we want to mark that with a win,” said the 23-year-old. “Obviously, our last two games were disappointing so 100 precent we want to come away with the points in our last home game.

“It’s been a long hard season. We were bitterly disappointed with the two losses against Glasgow. There were opportunities there to win both games. So, everyone is dead keen to come back and get a win off the back of those two performances. We want to show that we still have that in us.”

“It was good to get a week away after that and then we hit the ground running when we came back to training last Monday. We now have a lot of time to prepare for Ulster which will be another good game. They’re a team in a similar boat for us.

“It’s a strong pack and a great backline as well. It will be another physical game but we’re more than capable of matching that.”

While the Ulster game will represent the end of an era for Edinburgh as a club, Hodgson is one of several emerging players who will hope to use the occasion as a launchpad to a new epoch in their own careers. A big performance could put them in the frame for Scotland’s summer schedule – consisting of an A match against England in Leicester on Sunday, June 27, and two cap international away to Romania on July 10 and Georgia 10 days later – which is set to have a distinctly developmental feel while senior players are either away with the Lions or being rested.

“I’m only concentrating on the next two games, and finishing off the season with Edinburgh, but going away with Scotland is something I’d be very keen to do if I got the call-up,” acknowledged Hodgson.

“Every professional player always dreams of representing their country and any step closer to doing so would be amazing. That Scotland A game against England would be a great experience and good to train with whoever is selected.

“I played under 20s with Scotland which was great. We don’t play A games that often – I think Rob Harley played in the last one – so it’s good to have that fixture back in there for some of the guys who are maybe looking to bridge the gap between the national team and under-20s. That’s a target for some of them to try to hit.”

“But second-row is a very competitive position, especially in Scottish rugby,” he added. “There’s a lot of very good players there. Jonny Gray was unlucky not to be included on the Lions tour and is probably one of the next in line. And there are other big names in the second row.”