Murrayfield has never hosted the final. But the Scots are putting plans in place to ensure they are chosen as the venue for the final in the near future.

Scottish rugby has come under fire for some quarters for its marketing of the World Cup in 1999.

But Anderton, tipped to become the new SRU chief executive following the sacking of Bill Watson on Monday, insists Scottish rugby is capable of hosting major finals.

He said: “I think now we can say that we are at the leading edge in hosting events in the northern hemisphere.

“With regard to the Heineken Cup, we have been aware that the final would take place at Twickenham this year for a long time. But we are very confident we will be hosting a Heineken cup final very shortly.”

Anderton concedes mistakes have been made in the past – but insists there is nothing amiss now.

“The Rugby World Cup in 1999 was clearly a bad episode for Scottish rugby,” he said.

“Scottish rugby learnt a big lesson about hosting events and how to market those events, and that’s why we have been putting such focus on that since then.”

Ulster face Edinburgh in the inaugural Celtic Cup final at Murrayfield on December 20, and the SRU are hoping to attract a bumper crowd for that game.

But Anderton believes Scotland’s chances of being granted the European Cup final will not be undermined if the clash does not grab the public’s attention.

He said: “We do not see our chances of hosting the Heineken Cup as being dependent by how we put on this event.

“I am not saying if we get 3,000-to-4,000 people we will be happy; we will not be happy, and I would see that as absolute failure.

“But I am not going to put a figure on how many we expect.”