He said: “Ben made a commitment to come to Scotland but had an unfortunate season last year through injury so it is in both his and our interest to see him on the field of play as often as possible.

“We would like to see Ben develop to his full potential as he is still making the transition from league to union and the environment at the Reivers will allow him to aspire to his ambition of playing at the top level in Scotland.

 “We are looking to enhance the competition between our midfield backs and to do that we feel it is more beneficial for those players to compete against each other in competitive matches rather than on the training field.

“He will also unquestionably benefit from playing outside the Reivers’ seasoned international stand-off Gregor Townsend. We are delighted that Ben is taking on this fresh challenge and know he will ask serious questions of himself and his opposition on the field of play. 

The Border Reivers’ head coach Steve Bates said: “We see Ben as a player with great potential who will add to our current squad and fit in with our plans, and hopefully Scotland’s plans, for the future. He has massive potential to excel at the highest level and we think he will get the opportunity to show that with us.”

Edinburgh Gunners’ head coach Frank Hadden said: “We had five centres in Edinburgh, one of whom was Ben MacDougall, and picking up on Richie’s point it makes sense to us that we need to have players playing against each other on the field and not just on the training paddock. We wish Ben all the best at the Reivers.”

Ben, who arrived in Edinburgh from Australia last year, qualifies for Scotland through a paternal grandfather from Glasgow.

 He was named in the national training squad for the RBS 6 Nations Championship earlier this year before interim Scotland coach Frank Hadden called him up to cover injuries in the squad during the summer tests against the Barbarians and Romania.

 Ben’s current contract runs to the end of season 2006-07.