Why Edinburgh have no qualms over playing Blair Kinghorn in final match

Scotland internationalist heads to Toulouse next week and will be involved against Ulster

Sean Everitt insists he sees no reason to change his mind about selecting Blair Kinghorn to play one last game for Edinburgh against Ulster on Saturday night.

The Scotland full-back is due to join up with Toulouse on Monday, having agreed a three-year contract with the French club last week. Kinghorn played against Benetton the day after that agreement was completed, and although his two-try performance was flawed by a late error which produced the Italian club’s winning score, Everitt believes that his continued commitment to the cause was very much in evidence.

“Blair was really good on Friday night,” the senior coach said. “If luck had gone our way a little bit on a forward pass, he might have got three tries in the first 25 minutes. He’s really important to this group. We respect him for his ability as a rugby player; we respect him for his commitment to the club. In the world of professional sport, players come and go. There’s no reason why we can’t play him in his last game. A lot was going on last week in his life – probably the biggest week of his rugby career. And he performed admirably in those circumstances. I believe he’s honest and he’s committed to Edinburgh and I don’t see why it should be any different this week.”

Edinburgh's Blair Kinghorn and Benetton's Marco Zanon in action last week.

Darcy Graham’s return from the hip and knee injuries that have kept him out of action since the World Cup was originally scheduled for the game in Belfast. But according to Everitt, the Scotland winger is now due back for the Challenge Cup game at home to Castres on 16 December. However, Hamish Watson is available after missing the last few weeks with a facial injury. The Scotland openside is set to take over from Connor Boyle, while his fellow-back-row forward Bill Mata is also expected to be back after being ruled out of the Benetton game by concussion. Grant Gilchrist is set to be rested, and Marshall Sykes and Jamie Hodgson are both in contention for a starting berth in the second row.