EDINBURGH Rugby prop Rory Sutherland has been drafted into the Scotland squad for Rugby World Cup 2015 as an injury replacement for Ryan Grant.

Grant sustained a hamstring injury in training earlier this week and, with the recovery period expected to extend beyond the competition, has been replaced by the 23-year-old Borderer.

Sutherland – who was set to start for his club against Ulster in the Guinness PRO12 last night – will instead fly to London to link up with the Scotland team ahead of this Sunday’s Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final against Australia at Twickenham (kick-off 4pm) – live on ITV.

It marks a remarkable rise for the former Gala star, who only turned professional in June.

Sutherland began as back-row for Hawick Wanderers, moving to prop while in the Scotland under-18 squad and continued in the position while playing for the senior Hawick side.

After a season with Biggar he moved to Gala and earned selection for the Scotland Club XV team in 2014. That led to a trial with Edinburgh Rugby and the subsequent two-year Academy contract before he earned a professional contract in June.

Sutherland joins fellow Borderers Stuart Hogg (Hawick) and captain Greig Laidlaw (Jedburgh) in the Scotland squad, both of whom are set to start against Australia, while Ross Ford (Kelso) misses out through suspension.

Scotland Head Coach, Vern Cotter, said: "It’s always nice to be part of the final eight of any qualifying competition, the guys are very excited about being here.

“We will go into this game with the belief that we can compete with and dominate a very strong Australian team, and move forward to the last four.

“They are a front-foot momentum team so defence will be key but also getting our hands on the ball and expressing ourselves as we like to."

The two nations have met on 28 Test-capped occasions, with the Wallabies leading the head-to-heads 19 to nine.

The results of the last five meetings – dating back to 2004 – are, however, a little more even, with the Aussies holding a 3-2 lead, with less than a score separating the sides in the past three meetings, of which Scotland won two.

The Scot’s notable victories in the sequence were the back-to-back, home and away successes at BT Murrayfield in 2009 (9-8) and in Newcastle, Australia in 2012 (9-6), in which captain Greig Laidlaw held his nerve to kick the match-winning penalty.

They now face the Wallabies on the biggest stage since they met in the RWC 2003 Quarter-Final in Brisbane, with the victor facing either Ireland or Argentina in the penultimate round.