Scotland's Ben White opens up on life at Toulon - 'being a halfback that doesn’t speak much French, it tests you'

Scrum-half believes his game will develop further working with Mignoni and Co at Toulon

Ben White has a useful knack of scoring against England and the Scotland scrum-half is going into this year’s Calcutta Cup game in fine form.

The 25-year-old made a big decision in the summer when he moved to France to join Toulon and he feels his game has improved already after half a season in the Top 14. He scored what was an excellent team try in the narrow Six Nations loss to France on Saturday and will look to take his form into the match against England in Edinburgh on February 24. White announced himself on the international stage when he came off the bench as a temporary replacement and bagged a debut try in the 20-17 win over England at Murrayfield two years ago. He then notched another in last season’s Calcutta Cup at Twickenham as Scotland retained the trophy with a 29-23 victory.

Having taken himself out of his comfort zone, the former Leicester and London Irish scrum-half is now getting to grips with a different style of rugby under the tutelage of Pierre Mignoni, the Toulon head coach and former France scrum-half. “It’s been a big change but I’m enjoying my rugby there,” White said. “It’s a fantastic club with great players, great coaches and a really good environment and I think I can definitely grow as a player out there.

Ben White made the switch to Toulon this summer.

“It’s taken me a bit of time to get used to it. Being a halfback that doesn’t speak much French, it tests you, which is great. There are not many jobs where you get to travel the world and you’re thrown in at the deep end. I’m trying to learn a new language and also a new way of playing at times and I think that has helped me with Scotland. I feel like my kicking and some of my core skills have got better with the time I’ve spent with Pierre and the other players, just working on those things, it’s been great.”

White is making a determined effort to improve his French and knows that communication skills will make his life easier on and off the pitch. He’s having lessons twice a week and has thrown himself wholeheartedly into it. “I’m enjoying learning,” he said. “I try to get out and about and speak to people. Some people probably think I’m talking utter rubbish when I’m trying to order something but it’s part of the fun. It’s a great opportunity for me.”

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend spent much of his playing career in France, with Brive, Castres and Montpellier, and noted recently how the scrum-half can have a far bigger leadership role than in the UK. White has been adapting and feels equipped to take on the challenge. “If you look at the nines over the years for France it’s definitely a position which is key to the way they play which can be slightly different to here,” he said. “But, at the same time, we’re halfbacks, we have to control the game, we have to be dominant with our forwards. I want to enjoy my rugby, I want to play in big games every week and I feel like I’m able to do that at the minute. I’m enjoying the challenge of it all and it’s gone all right so far, I think, but there’s always room for improvement.”