I chose Jason when he was a kid

Scotland coach Frank Hadden has been placing his faith inAberdeen's Jason White for more than a decade.

Hadden first discovered the intimidating prop when White was aninexperienced teenager.

And now he will call on White to lead the Scots to World Cupglory.

Hadden said: "Jason and I go back a long way. I first selected himin 1994 when I was in charge of Scotland's Under-16s.

"I needed to introduce some talent to the pack and I knew a lot ofpowerful athletes came from the North.

"So I called up a guy at Aberdeen Wanderers and he promised tosend down this big lad for a trial.

"It was Jason White."

After recovering from a 10-month injury lay off White will leadthe Scots out against Portugal in their World Cup opener.

"Jason is a superb captain and has real physical presence," saidHadden.

"Having him fit again is vitally important to the squad andthankfully his rehab went very well.

"Sometimes after a long rehab period there can be psychologicaleffects, but Jason has not shown any."