BLAIR KINGHORN: I WAS STAGNATING AT EDINBURGH - TOULOUSE CAN HELP TURN ME FROM A GOOD PLAYER TO A GREAT ONE

Scotland full-back opens up on move to France ahead of Euro semi-final

It’s coming up for six months since Blair Kinghorn upped sticks from Edinburgh to embrace a new challenge at Toulouse, the French aristocrats who have won European club rugby’s top prize more than any other.

To say he’s grasped the opportunity with both hands would be an understatement. Ten games, ten wins and five tries are the bald stats and on Sunday he will start at full-back in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final against Harlequins at Stadium de Toulouse. In a star-studded team that includes dreamy half-back pairing Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack, Kinghorn has been preferred at 15 to Thomas Ramos, with France’s first-choice full-back consigned to the bench.

It’s a massive vote of confidence in Kinghorn whose decision to leave his hometown was motivated by a desire to prove himself with and against the very best. Not content with merely being a good player, the Scotland international says he wants to become “great”. That meant getting out of Edinburgh where he felt he was starting to stagnate. He knew that he was more or less guaranteed his place in the team in the Scottish capital; at Toulouse, he’s scrapping it out with Ramos and Italian sensation Ange Capuozzo for the full-back’s jersey.

“It’s been really good, it’s been a great experience so far,” says the affable Kinghorn. “It [the move] all happened very quickly but since the Six Nations finished I’m feeling more settled here, not having to go back and forwards to Scotland. I feel like the club has been very good for me and I feel like I’m developing as a player. I’m really enjoying it, it’s awesome.

“Whenever you dream about rugby games you dream about big knockout European games or big domestic knockout games, so it was a big influence in the decision to come here. The quality of the players in the team was also a big draw. I know I am potentially not going to be playing week in, week out if I am not performing and I feel like that is only going to drive me to become better. Having competition in every place is going to make you graft harder and excel at your own game so that was one of the driving factors as well.

“I felt like I got a little bit stagnant over the last couple of years, not really excelling in the way that I should have. So I feel that the move here has accelerated my development a little bit.”

Pressed further on the decision to leave his Edinburgh comfort zone, Kinghorn adds: “I just feel that I could have been better than I was. That’s probably a bit on me as well, not working hard enough potentially, not having to fight week in, week out for a spot in the Edinburgh team. Potentially that made me a little bit complacent – this would have been a couple of years ago. So, I feel that having a change up, getting into an environment where the coaches don’t know you and you have to prove yourself all over again. It’s not a kick up the arse but it’s a sink or swim moment.

“It’s not like I didn’t work at my time in Edinburgh – I worked really hard – but maybe just the extra 10 per cent of using my brain more, if that makes sense. Getting out of your comfort zone can make you better and that was the driving factor. I didn’t want to just sit and be a good player. I wanted to move and improve and become a great player.”

Kinghorn certainly has all the attributes. Tall, rangy, fast and skilful, his ability to play off the cuff fits into Toulouse’s style where galacticos like Dupont and Ntamack are capable of just about anything.

“Playing on instinct is massive,” Kinghorn says. “There's not necessarily calls or chat on the pitch about certain things but it's about reading body language and playing off instincts. A lot of the tries we score is people playing on instincts, not moves we're setting up. We're just playing rugby and adapting to each other. When it clicks it works. It is a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun.”

Gregor Townsend expressed a little disquiet when it first emerged that Kinghorn would be swapping the URC for the Top 14. Having spent much of his own playing career in France, the national coach could see the obvious benefits but there were concerns about the managing of his game-time and the amount of travelling to attend international camps. Kinghorn believes the pros will outweigh the cons and is positively brimming with enthusiasm about what it might mean for his international career.

“I feel like this is only going to develop me into being a better player for Scotland,” he says. “The stuff I learn here is going to help me excel at my own game and then I can bring that, hopefully with some good form for Scotland. I don't think it will be difficult. It's something I'll have to get used to, travelling back and forward during a campaign, but my commitment is still there for the Scottish jersey.”

He is unsure whether he will be required for the summer tour of the Americas. The focus at the moment is on Toulouse who could potentially be contesting the Top 14 final in Paris on June 28, the week before Scotland take on Canada in Ottawa. The possibility of the double is very much on but it’s Europe first and if Toulouse can overcome Danny Wilson’s Quins side they will face Leinster in the Champions Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 25.

Has Kinghorn dared to dream about what it would be like to help his new club lift the trophy for a record sixth time?

“It would be mental, I reckon!” he laughs. “But one game at a time. It would be awesome to play in the semi-final and, if we win, just keep on trucking. Bring on Sunday!”

2024-05-04T21:10:39Z dg43tfdfdgfd