Skinner – who won his first Scotland cap in Saturday’s 54-17 drubbing of Fiji – is none the wiser but would not be surprised to see his Devonshire club leading the pack of suitors.

He said: “I haven’t had any conversations with Stuart, actually.

“But any club would love to have a player of his ability. I don’t know what’s going on with him, though.”

Meanwhile, centre Pete Horne insists there will be no fear in the Scotland ranks when they take on South Africa next Saturday.

Gregor Townsend admits his side will have to step up a gear from their eight-try demolition job on Fiji if they are to halt a Springboks outfit that stunned the All Blacks just two months ago.

But Horne is looking forward to squaring off against Rassie Erasmus’ side when they are in peak form.

“It’s funny, we were laughing about this the other week,” he explained.

“The last time we played the Boks at the last World Cup, they’d just lost to Japan but ended up going on a great run and played really well for the rest of the tournament.

“They then had a couple of years where they have maybe not been quite as good but now, just as they are flying again, we’ve got them coming to Murrayfield.

“But it’s a game we’re looking forward to. We want to test ourselves against the best teams in the world and it doesn’t get much bigger than South Africa right now.

“You’d rather they are coming here on form and playing well than struggling. We don’t fear anyone right now.

“We’ve maybe struggled against South Africa in the past. It will be another big step up in terms of physicality from Saturday but it will be good to see where we’re at.

“We don’t need to fear them. If we can defend as well as we have in the past, then our attack will put stress on any team. Fingers crossed it will be a good result.”

Tommy Seymour grabbed a hat-trick as Fiji were ripped apart in Edinburgh.

Allan Dell, Fraser Brown, Sean Maitland, Jamie Ritchie and Adam Hastings also went over – but Horne admits his side will have to be even more ruthless against the South Africans.

He said: “There were times in the finish zone when the forwards were doing some great work but in the back-line we needed to communicate a bit better. We could have had a couple of walk-ins in the corner if we’d passed the ball out.

“Thankfully the forwards did score in the end but against South Africa with their physicality in that area, we need to make sure we’re staying connected and taking any chances that come.”

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