Almost Wallaby McKibbin ready to answer Scotland's call

By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY (Reuters) - New South Wales Waratahs scrumhalf Brendan McKibbin, who was a Robbie Deans nod away from making his Wallabies debut in 2012, is hoping a move to London Irish might propel him back into the test arena with Scotland. The 29-year-old halfback, who has spent most of the last two years on the Waratahs bench, still has unfinished business in Australia, however, with a Super Rugby semi-final coming up on June 27. McKibbin was born in Irvine, Scotland and spent his first three years in Kilmarnock before his family emigrated to Australia. His ambition was always to play for Australia but despite making the matchday squad for the 2012 test against Wales, the nod from then coach Deans never came and he remains eligible for the country of his birth. "I think that's a given," he said on Wednesday when asked whether he would like to play for Scotland. "(But) I haven't thought about it, I'm solely focused on the Waratahs and Waratahs rugby." His chance is unlikely to come in time for this year's World Cup as Scotland have already selected their wider World Cup squad with Greig Laidlaw, Chris Cusiter, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne and Henry Pyrgos the halfbacks. McKibbin knows all about waiting for his chance, however, having been kept out of the Waratahs side for the last two years by Nick Phipps, who was also in the Wallabies number nine shirt at the Millennium Stadium on Dec. 1, 2012. "It's always hard from a Saturday evening to a Monday morning when you don't get many minutes," McKibbin said. "I can't kick stones and think about that too much in the week because I'll just miss the detail. "It's just not my personality, if I'm not contributing at the weekend, I'm going to do that during the week." McKibbin showed last weekend against the Queensland Reds that he can be relied upon to perform if given the nod, taking a pass from Bernard Foley to score the third try as the Waratahs secured a home semi-final with a comfortable 31-5 victory. "It's pretty good to get over the line but I was just doing my job," he said. "If I wasn't there, there would have been questions asked." McKibbin was also there as a late replacement to claim a small footnote in Waratahs history by booting the ball into touch to end last year's Super Rugby final, sealing the narrow victory over the Canterbury Crusaders. (Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)