John Barclay column: Edinburgh move exciting but sad to leave Scarlets

On Saturday, Scotland play New Zealand for the 31st time in 112 years.

Twenty-eight defeats and two draws; not a fantastic record to say the least. You might say that we owe them one. What I do know is that I have played in three of the 30 and I have yet to know what it feels like to score a try against them. To say they're a magnificent side is like saying Edinburgh is a beautiful city. Some things are just so obvious that they don't need saying.

Speaking of Edinburgh, the news is out. I've spent the last few weeks playing a straight bat to the story about me joining Richard Cockerill and the boys from next season. I've been in press conferences and it's all been a bit of a game. I couldn't say anything until the time was right.

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The time is now right. I'll be very sad to leave the Scarlets but I'm very excited to be joining Edinburgh. It's a two-year deal although I hope the relationship extends beyond that. I certainly don't see retirement on the horizon any time soon. I've chatted at length with Richard about what he needs from me and where he sees the club going. I firmly believe he's turning things around there now. For me, it's one more adventure at a new club. For my family, it's a chance to return home.

I need to talk about the Scarlets because they do, and always will, mean an awful lot to me. I joined them not fully knowing if it would work out or not. No player knows for sure. Some people thought it was an odd move to make, but it came at a time when Glasgow didn't want me anymore, a time when I needed a fresh start.

Barclay playing for Scarlets against Edinburgh last year

I wasn't at a crossroads, but I needed a new challenge. Scarlets had a great history and a great reputation for playing an exciting brand of rugby. I thought the move would help my career. I was right.

The locals made it easy for me. They welcomed me in and supported me. Captaining the club on occasion was a huge honour. It wasn't lost on me that here I was, an outsider, leading this very traditional Welsh club. To be captain on the day we won the Pro12 last season isn't just the proudest day of my time with them, it's without doubt one of the highlights of my 14-year rugby career.

Those were amazing weeks. The way we played in the run-in? I still get goosebumps even thinking about it. Some guys go through their whole career without ever winning anything and I was quite aware of that going into the final. To win playing the way we did will live forever in my memory.

What will I miss? The boys, the community. Wales and Llanelli will always hold a special place in our family. We have two boys and one of them was born in Wales. Our third child, due in six weeks, will be born in Wales too, so two of our three children will have been born in Wales. Finn is four-and-a-half and attends a Welsh speaking school. The link will always be there.

What we did with the Scarlets, I'd love to do with Edinburgh. This is an exciting time for the club. There's a sense that things are on the move after the disappointment in recent years. That's something that I'm looking forward to immensely.

Of course, that's way down the line. It was reassuring to get my contract sorted early, as it's allowed me to focus all my energy on the autumn series. Since the final whistle against Samoa, facing the All Blacks has constantly been on my mind. It's been 10 years since I played them first, a game that happened to be my debut.

It was the day before my 21st birthday, a World Cup match with Richie McCaw wearing the seven jersey opposite me. He was one of my rugby heroes. Fast and ferocious, smart and incredibly tough; in my opinion, he's the best player who ever played the game.

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We lost 40-0. I remember sitting on a bean-bag back at the hotel and thinking, 'this isn't how I imagined my first cap going!'. I've had two more cracks at them since and haven't got near them. The rugby calendar, injuries, and non-selection means you don't know when you'll next get the chance to play against New Zealand. When you get the chance, you have to make it count, something I believe I don't think we did last time we faced them. We've beaten some very good sides this year and I'd like to think that we're in good shape going into this game on Saturday.

We've worked incredibly hard on the training ground and in our analysis but the important thing is that we go out with an intent to play and have a go at New Zealand. The win over Australia in Sydney in the summer highlighted that - the ferocity and accuracy, the creativity and execution - is what's needed again. We need to lay it all out there and see what happens. We'll have another capacity crowd at BT Murrayfield. It'll be a monumental occasion. Challenges like this are what you dream of as a rugby player.

John Barclay was talking to BBC Sport Scotland's chief sports writer, Tom English