Kinghorn, 26, came off the bench to replace Stuart Hogg at full-back in Scotland’s Six Nations wins over England and Wales, playing 67 minutes and scoring a try against the Welsh after Hogg’s head injury. Given that his last three games for Edinburgh have been on the wing and that the capital club have signed Munster No 10 Ben Healy for next season, there has been speculation that the drive to utilise Kinghorn at stand-off had lost some of its momentum. But Edinburgh coach Blair said he was still an asset in the playmaker’s role. “I still believe he’s an extremely talented No 10,” said the coach. “Looking at the stats from last season, especially the amount of try assists. These are things that are quickly forgotten but we are really fortunate at Edinburgh that we have a player of his ability who can play at international standard in three positions – 10, wing and full-back.”

Kinghorn was a schoolboy stand-off but played professionally in the back three before being converted back to 10 last season. “I don’t think it is necessarily about being primarily a 10,” added Blair. “He has the ability to play 10 for us and play really well. He’s covering 10 for Scotland at the moment. He’s not just a back-three player. It is going to be important how we manage him in terms of where he plays. At 10 you need to have time in the saddle to give it a good go.”

Blair Kinghorn backed to deliver ‘international standard’ performances in three positions

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