Scotland hooker Ross Ford believes it's imperative that he performs for his Edinburgh pro-team in the opening games of the season in order to feature for Scotland in the Autumn Tests.

Speaking exclusively to www.scotlandrugbyteam.org the British and Irish Lion chats about Edinburgh's demanding pre-season fixtures against Bath (away) and London Irish (home) before the competitive action in the Magners League begins next month.

Ross Ford ready to motor for Edinburgh

"I'm feeling pretty sharp and I'm really excited about the friendlies.  We're facing challenging teams and that's the standard we aspire to get to," he declared.

Listen to the full interview with Ford below.