Robert McAlpine in action for the Scotland U20s © Getty Images

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Teams: Edinburgh | Scotland

Edinburgh Rugby have bolstered their second-row resources with the signing of two young locks ahead of next season.

The Heineken Cup semi-finalists are preparing for life without Esteban Lozada and have moved to cover his departure by bringing in Perry-John Parker from Esher and Scotland Under-20's Robert McAlpine.

McAlpine is the great-nephew of former Scotland internationals Donald and Angus Cameron and is looking to emulate other graduates of the elite development programme. "Seeing what players like David Denton, Grant Gilchrist and Matt Scott have all achieved as EDP players at Edinburgh Rugby has been a massive inspiration," said McAlpine. "This summer will be my first full senior pre-season and I can't wait to push on, build my fitness and physicality, put pressure on the other second-rows and see what progress I can make."

Edinburgh boss Michael Bradley is looking forward to seeing what impact the pair can have and has reiterated his wish to play their usual brand of rugby while emphasising the need for a more hard-line streak to their game.

"It's very exciting for Edinburgh Rugby to have secured two very promising young locks at crucial stages of their respective careers," Bradley said. "While we'll continue to refine the expansive, attacking play for which the club is famous, we're keen to introduce a harder, more aggressive edge to our play, and believe this pair will work tirelessly to lay the platform from which our back division can play."