Blair Kinghorn: ‘Scary’ to see how far he could go as a fly-half

Stationed between Blair Kinghorn and Mark Bennett in the Edinburgh backline, James Lang has had first-hand experience of playing alongside two of the club’s stand-out performers this season.

The inside centre likes what he’s seen and would love to recreate the midfield combination when Scotland tour South America this summer.

The six-times capped Lang knows his continued good form with Edinburgh will strengthen his case, particularly his partnership with Bennett.

“I really rate Mark,” said Lang. “His performances this season have been exceptional, he has been one of the stand-out players and I am learning a lot playing beside him. It is a partnership that I am enjoying, and hopefully it will grow and we get the best out of each other.”

James Lang has linked up well with Blair Kinghorn and Mark Bennett. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Lang things it could work for Scotland, too.

“That would be great,” he said. “That is definitely on my cards. At the moment i just want to stay fit and get some consistency with my performances with Edinburgh and I am sure Mark is the same.”

The pair helped Edinburgh to a memorable 21-5 victory over the Sharks in Durban last weekend as they became the first team from the Northern Hemisphere to win in South Africa in the United Rugby Championship.

They will aim to repeat the trick, but at altitude, when they take on the Lions in Johannesburg on Saturday and Lang thinks Kinghorn will be key again following his two tries against Sharks. Having played at stand-off earlier in his career, Lang can identify with Kinghorn who has moved into the playmaker’s role from the back three.

“Blair’s an exceptional player, he’s got so much talent,” said Lang. “Whenever I’ve played 10 it’s made my life easier to have a 12 outside me who calls things and helps me out, so I just try to do that as much as possible with Blair.

“I try to give him as much information on the pitch as possible and he does what he does best - he attacks the line or passes. He’s really good at listening.

“For someone who’s not played there that much I think he’s been among our top performers this year and the sky’s the limit with Blair because he’s such a skilful player. It’s quite scary to see how far he could go as a fly-half.”

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