Blair Kinghorn: Players around me helped settle Scotland nerves as stand-off

Blair Kinghorn played at stand-off for Scotland against Tonga.

The 24-year-old Edinburgh Rugby back normally plays at 15, but was moved to 10 by his club two weeks ago and was selected at fly-half for Scotland on Saturday with Finn Russell and Adam Hastings on club duty.

Kinghorn was praised by head coach Gregor Townsend for his performance against the Pacific Islanders, playing his part in some of ten tries as Scotland ran out 60-14 winners.

However, Kinghorn said it took time for him to feel comfortable in the role and that he had help from the players around him.

“I was nervous before the game and I felt like it took me a while to settle into it,” said Kinghorn. “I thought we played a little bit better in the second half, a bit more expansive rugby.

“I though we did well to hold onto the ball at times, our set-plays and set-piece worked really well for us this week, and we did a lot of things at tempo which is something we talk about a lot.

“It settled my nerves having the boys around me playing well, running great lines and chatting, it makes playing 10 a lot easier. So, I really enjoyed my first [international] run-out there.”

Russell and Hastings are in contention to play this Sunday against Australia after playing for Racing 92 and Gloucester respectively over the weekend, while captain Stuart Hogg is likely to return a full-back after being on duty with Exeter Chiefs.

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