White, who toured with the British and Irish Lions in the summer, was on Edinburgh Rugby’s radar as they sought an experienced replacement for Ali Price, who left for Montpellier at the end of last season.  

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And White confirmed he spoke to the club’s hierarchy, but ultimately opted to stay in France, after signing a new deal to remain in the French Riviera until the summer of 2028.  

“It was something that definitely interested me,” he said, speaking about a potential move for the first time. 

White added: “Playing for Scotland and being Scottish, there’s obviously a connection with moving up there.  

“They’ve got a good team and a good squad but when I spoke to Toulon, I’ve got settled here and I’ve moved my life here.” 

White said the backing of Toulon head coach Pierre Mignoni was central to his decision, as was the style of the French side’s play, which he believes is better suited to test match rugby.  

White explained: “The play is a bit more focused around nine – I think helps me for when I play international rugby.  

“I think in the Top 14, the refereeing of the rucks is slightly different and it can be a bit difficult there at times, but it gives me great preparation for bettering my skills. 

“I feel like it’s helped me to play well at Test match level for Scotland.  

Ben White has committed his future to Toulon (Image: David Rogers/Getty Images)

“It [moving to Edinburgh] was obviously something that I thought about, but when you have the backing of a coach like Pierre and a club like Toulon, it’s hard to move once you’ve already made your decision to move your life out here.” 

White has a battle on his hands for the Toulon number nine jersey, with Baptiste Serin – who had been widely expected to leave the club next summer – also signing a new contract.  

White, who has only started twice this season, is back in the mix for the trip to Edinburgh after a week off following his efforts with Scotland during the autumn. 

He started the defeat to New Zealand but missed the match with Argentina, withdrawing from the squad after illness struck in the 24 hours before the game.  

White returned for the 56-0 drubbing of Tonga, but admitted there was a huge amount of frustration that Scotland fell short in the two big matches of their November series.  

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“I don’t think any of us were particularly happy with how certain things went, he said. 

“We’ve become a team now that expects results against the biggest opposition, and we’ve earned that right, but at the same time, we have to also be more accurate and clinical in these key moments.  

“We have to really step up as a group now and make sure that we’re not just saying, ‘we need to take learnings from this’. In the Six Nations, we really have to go into it with a mindset of ‘that’s what went wrong, and that’s not happening again’ 

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Both head coach Gregor Townsend and captain Sione Tuipulotu have insisted Scotland will learn from the implosion against Argentina, when they surrendered a 21-point lead to ship five tries in 23 calamitous minutes.  

White echoed the views of team-mates Kyle Steyn and Ewan Ashman that talk is cheap and it is now time for Scotland to walk the walk.  

“We can say all of these things but now it’s about acting upon it and having ownership on it as a group.”  

It will be up to White and the other dozen British and Irish Lions among the Scotland squad to add their experience when the national team regather for the Six Nations, starting with a tricky trip to Rome on February 7.  

White was a late call-up to the Lions squad, replacing the injured Tomos Williams after the first match in Australia.  

The Scotland contingent celebrate the British and Irish Lions’ series win (Image: British and Irish Lions)

He reflected on a whirlwind experience, in which he was a stand-out performer in the midweek matches but failed to break into the test squad.  

He said: “It was an amazing experience. I absolutely loved my time there. And it was just a great group of lads. 

“It’s a very, very, very special thing that, will live long in my memory for the rest of my life.  

“To get to put on that jersey, it was every kid’s dream. Because I didn’t get selected at the start, I went in with an approach of I just wanted to enjoy every minute of it, get to know everyone as well as I could, and just go for it and play how I wanted to play, and dive in with two feet.  

“I thought I did that. And I thought I played well. “You can’t worry about selection. Of course, you’d love to play, but they’re good nines and for me I did everything I could. 

“But that’s not to say I didn’t completely love my time there.” 

Upon his return from that tour, speculation began about White’s future.  

The 27-year-old was also heavily linked with a move to Newcastle, owned by Red Bull – who employ Scotland boss Townsend in a part-time consultancy role.  

However, he was not aware of any talks with the PREM strugglers.  

“I honestly have no idea where that came from,” White said. 

And with his future now sorted, White is looking forward to facing some familiar faces this weekend.  

Ben White held talks with Edinburgh Rugby officials over a potential move (Image: Shutterstock)

The 31-times Scotland cap said: “It’ll be nice to play against the boys. I’m sure there’ll be trying to wind me up and vice versa.” 

Given their outstanding European pedigree, Toulon will go into the match as favourites, but White insists Edinburgh – who can call upon Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe on the wings – will not be pushovers, particularly with the weather forecast not too encouraging for Sunday afternoon.   

Scotland wing Darcy Graham is set to return for Edinburgh Rugby (Image: Mark Runnacles/Shutterstock)

“Edinburgh have got a lot of Scotland players – they’re a top side. They’ve only played five games this season, and of the three they’ve lost, they lost by a point to Munster and Zebre.  

“They’re a team that defends very well and we’re going to have to be on it if we want to win the game. 

“And we’ll have to manage the conditions because I had a brief look before and it looks like it might be a bit windy and wet.” 

While the current Toulon side may not have a monopoly on the competition like the Galacticos of a decade ago, White said the level of expectation has not changed among the club’s hierarchy.  

“The expectation of Toulon is we win every match,” he said.  

“No-one talks about it because it’s just that’s what we expect. We understand it’s going to be a difficult match. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be tough conditions against a strong opposition and we need to front up and turn up and play our best to have a chance of winning.  

“Everyone’s excited about the Champions Cup. Toulon have a strong history in the tournament.”