The Blaine Scully story may well be told again about 300 miles to the north.

Edinburgh Rugby Club in the RaboDirect 12 has signed Brett Thompson, just as Leicester took a shot with Blaine Scully in 2013. Scully took his chances when he got them, emerged as an adventurous wing and a fan favorite. The hard-nosed Aviva Premiership season helped project Scully to a June where he scored three tries against Japan and two against Canada. Brett Thompson is another big, strong, athletic wing who cut his international teeth with the 7s team.

Now, with Edinburgh, he could be even more. The game between the USA and Canada, where Thompson earned his first cap and scored the winning try was nice proof that Edinburgh Head Coach Alan Solomons had made the right choice, but that choice had been made before that game. Thompson, by virtue of being eligible for a UK passport thanks to the fact his dad, Salty Thompson, was born in Northern Ireland, didn't need to 15s cap to get the Edinburgh contract. It was his performance with the USA 7s team that got him the look.

Playing well against Canada was just icing on the cake.

"[Against Canada] I mostly just wanted to get my positioning right and not cause any problems for the USA," Thompson told Goff Rugby Report. "I was basically non-existent in the first half and need to look for work more. It was an honor to get the game winning try but really I only finished off what the team set up. That's the beauty of being wing I guess. I have a ways to go before I'll feel 100% comfortable again but that's why I made the move, to get as much experience in before the upcoming tests and the Rugby World Cup."

Thompson played as a high-schooler in Tempe, Ariz. and played rugby and football at the University of Arizona. He joins nine other former American HS or college players now playing pro in Europe. Like the rest of them, Thompson is there to make himself a successful international.

"I want to work on my positioning for the most part, being in the right spot at the right time," said Thompson. "My kicking can use some work, but I'm the type of player who likes to counter. I know I can't do that all the time, though. Right now I am going to bust my butt here and go from there."