91Èȱ¬

Newcastle scrum-half Rory Lawson has said he was proud of his recall to the Scotland set-up last month after injury ruled him out of the Six Nations.

The 31-year-old also missed the Scots' summer tour with a groin problem that delayed his Falcons debut after switching from Gloucester last summer.

"I've never taken international rugby for granted," Lawson told 91Èȱ¬ Sport.

"It's meant an awful lot to me and probably more so now as I've been injured, I feel refreshed at the club."

Lawson added: "Going back in coming off different foundations has been great."

The Dunfermline-born half-back is one of a number of call-ups received by the Falcons for the forthcoming Autumn internationals, and head coach Peter Russell sees their recognition as a positive for the club.

"I think it's great they're looking down this far, it's easy to bypass it but there are some good players playing in this competition," Russell said.

"There's Rory, Ally Hogg, Jon Golding and Suka Hufanga, all players who are plucked out and taken off to play international rugby.

"I suppose it's a smile on our face too, that we can produce international players at our level."

Meanwhile Lawson's debut against Doncaster in September was his first taste of the Championship after six seasons at the top level with the Cherry and Whites at Kingsholm.

"It's very different, the games each week are posing different challenges," Lawson added.

"In many ways you learn as you go along, coming to a new team and a new league is difficult but I feel as though I'm improving every week.

"We've set ourselves Premiership standards day-to-day and we look to take those into the weekend."