Scotland's 25-21 win over France on Saturday may have been just another step on the long journey to the Rugby World Cup, but it surely also marked the end of the road for something else: namely, the attempt to turn Blair Kinghorn into a stand-off.
The Edinburgh player started at full-back for the national side for the first time in three years, and he ended up there too after Ollie Smith, his rival for the 15 jersey, became the only replacement for either side not to see action. The attempt to make him primarily a stand-off, started by Scotland and dutifully followed up by Edinburgh, began at a time when Stuart Hogg was securely installed as the last line of defence and Finn Russell did not see eye to eye with Gregor Townsend.
But now Hogg has retired and the playmaker and head coach are in harmony once more, not to mention the fact that Ben Healy showed a week earlier against Italy that he is a more than able deputy for Russell. So, while Kinghorn will gladly fill in at half-back if and when required, he admitted it felt good to be back at 15.
“I loved being back there,” he said of a position in which he last began a Test in a 48-7 win over Georgia in October 2020. “I feel very comfortable. I feel like I’m able to affect the game in a really positive way with my carries, so it was great to start out there.
“Obviously I’ve played most of my career there. I have the ability to cover 10 if needed, but I feel that 15 is my better position - I feel like the team can get the best out of me there.”
Kinghorn played a significant role in Scotland’s steady improvement in the second half, and suggested that, after a sluggish performance in the first 40 minutes saw the team go in at the break 21-3 behind, an increase in energy levels in both defence and attack had been the key to their recovery. “We held on to the ball a bit better at the start of the second half. The boys had some real energy about them, defended better. We just held on to the ball and we caused them trouble through multi-phase attack, which we didn’t do in the first half.
“I think the second half was really good. It felt like two completely different games to play in, the first half compared to the second half.”
