Mike Blair, the Edinburgh head coach, has made it clear that Blair Kinghorn’s move from fly half to wing for today’s clash with Zebre is a strictly temporary arrangement and that the 25-year-old will be back in the team’s driving seat before too long.
Kinghorn had a difficult autumn international series as he lost his starting place with Scotland — first to Adam Hastings and then to Finn Russell. Questions about his long-term positional future were also raised this week when Edinburgh confirmed that the Munster fly half Ben Healy will be joining them next season.
However, Blair, who was partially responsible for moving Kinghorn into the fly-half position in the first place, insisted that the team’s current back-three injury crisis was the sole reason for Kinghorn returning to the wing.
“We are missing a fair few in the back three,” he said. “We had an embarrassment of riches there but we have picked up a lot of injuries. Blair has obviously been capped many times by Scotland in that position and we feel that this is the best move for the balance of the team this week.
“I’m really confident that Blair has shown enough over the last 18 months or so to merit that status as our number one 10. We are very fortunate that he is an international class back-three player as well and is happy to help us out in that position this week.”
Advertisement
Edinburgh’s recent run of poor results has coincided with the absence of Darcy Graham, who was in prolific form for the club before he picked up a serious knee injury while playing against Munster at the beginning of last month. To add to their woes, Emiliano Boffelli and Duhan van der Merwe, the other two-thirds of their stellar back three, are also missing at the moment, although Blair expects both to return to training shortly — they could be available for selection again as early as next week’s European trip to Castres.
With Dave Cherry and Nick Haining returning, there is a grizzled look to the pack Edinburgh will field against Zebre, with the backs providing a much more callow and inexperienced dimension. Blair stopped short of admitting that their playbook means a more forward-oriented game that usual, but admitted: “There is always a balance to what you are trying to do. Zebre have got a good defensive lineout but we believe we can also challenge their attacking lineout, so there will be some games to play in and around that.
“We want to find some balance in our game and be ruthless when we get opportunities, whether that’s in our maul or finishing our attacks. We want to be able to balance that because we have a really talented back division as well.”
Harry Paterson, who was a late addition to the team for both 1872 Cup clashes with Glasgow recently, continues at full back in place of Boffelli. Van der Merwe’s wing slot is given to Jack Blain, whose only outing for Edinburgh so far this season was in the away win against Cardiff in October, when the team was shorn of most of its international players.
Blain, 22, was a rising star at Edinburgh under Richard Cockerill, Blair’s predecessor as head coach, but his career has seemed to stall over the past 18 months. With few opportunities to play for the club, he took himself off to Australia last summer and signed on with the Sydney-based Warringah Rats. Blair believes it was a positive move for the player.
Advertisement
“He came back rejuvenated and ready to go,” Blair said. “And fresh in mind as well, so it worked well for him. He has played some Super6 and he played a couple of the [pre-season] warm-up games for us as well, so he’s been in and around the group. He’s a young player, but he’s had good experience over the last two or three seasons.”
Even without many of their leading names, Edinburgh will start as clear favourites to overturn the run of form that has seen them win just one of their past six games by beating the struggling Italians. Zebre have not won a game this season and while Blair made it clear they will still be treated with respect he also expressed full confidence in his own side’s abilities and desire.
“I don’t think there will be any complacency at all,” he said. “The side Zebre have been able to select is full of really powerful and exciting players. There is a balance here but I believe the group we have selected has a huge amount of character and a huge amount to prove and I’m really excited to see them take on this challenge.”
Edinburgh v Zebre
DAM Health Stadium
Today, 3pm
TV: Viaplay Sports 1, 2.55pm
Edinburgh H Paterson; J Blain, M Bennett, C Hutchison, B Kinghorn; C Savala, C Shiel; B Venter, D Cherry, A Williams, S Skinner, J Hodgson, L Crosbie (captain), C Boyle, N Haining. Replacements P Harrison, N Auterac, L de Bruin, M Sykes, V Mata, B Vellacott, J van der Walt, J Lang.
Advertisement
Zebre J Trulla; P Bruno, T Boni, E Lucchin (captain), S Gesi; T Eden, A Fusco; P Buonfiglio, L Bigi, M Nocera, D Visser, J Furno, G Ferrari, MJ Pelser, M Kvesic. Replacements J du Toit, A Sanavia, M Hasa, L Krumov, D Ruggeri, R Jelic, G Prisciantelli, F Smith Jr.
Referee A Barrett-Theron (SA).