With no signs of lingering effects from the knee injury which curtailed his last outing at the national stadium, Blair Kinghorn’s involvement in a coaching session with youngsters at Murrayfield in midweek seemed to confirm management claims that all who had been involved in that trouncing of the Scarlets would be available for this weekend’s derby.

Alarming as it looked at the time when he re-appeared during the second half of that meeting with the reigning champions with his knee in a brace and heavily strapped, head coach Richard Cockerill’s immediate post-match reaction was to suggest that the damage to what has become an ever more prized asset as this season has gone on was not too serious, the 21-year-old confirming that the treatment had been largely precautionary and that he is fit to face Glasgow Warriors on Saturday.

“We didn’t really know what was wrong and had to look further into it, but I’m going through all my rehab process [so] hopefully I’ll be involved. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” he said, more in the manner of one not wishing to be seen to pre-judge selection than registering on-going reservations about his fitness.

Edinburgh’s full-back may be little older than the Kirkcaldy under-18s he was working with as part of their prize for winning Strathmore Water’s “Do More Rugby’ competition, but as much as they enjoyed being coached by Kinghorn and his Scotland colleague Stuart McInally, those youngsters can learn at least as much from his example in the way he has responded to being challenged to improve this season.

Recognised as a gifted player, he was told very publicly by Cockerill early in his new boss’s tenure that he was not yet ready for Test rugby because he made too many mistakes. Yet he has ended the season as a Calcutta Cup winner after making his Test debut late in the win over England, before becoming one of the few men to find a way through the Grand Slam-winning Irish defence as he registered a try on his first international start.

“I definitely think it was about concentration in key moments and just working harder on my skills throughout the week, so I know I can rely on them when it comes to those pressure situations,” Kinghorn acknowledged.

“Mistakes are bound to happen, that’s just the way it is, but it’s just about trying to cut down the mistakes you can control and that’s just been through working harder, concentrating more and being more confident.”

Rather than take offence at what some might have interpreted as criticism when Cockerill made those observations about his readiness for the international arena, Kinghorn has embraced the new environment.

“I’ve loved this season,” he said. 

“I feel it’s been really good for the club. The style of rugby we’re playing is really benefitting all of us and especially us in the back three. We’re scoring a lot more tries out on the wings and at 15 and I think it’s just to do with that brand of rugby we’re playing, moving the ball a bit more. So, I’ve really enjoyed it and I feel that the new leadership and management that have come in have really helped me, made us work a lot harder than we used to and that’s something I needed to do.”

Getting into the national squad, meanwhile, opened up another avenue with increased access to the methods of an admired rival, Glasgow Warriors’ two-time British & Irish Lions tourist Stuart Hogg.

“I feel I learned a lot from him in camp during the Six Nations. He’s got massive experience of the international and club game. So I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from him. He was really helpful,” said Kinghorn.

Hogg could live to regret that, of course, should his opposite number put in another of the barn-storming performances that have elevated his profile and status this season.

Kinghorn, though, believes that Edinburgh have what it takes to produce the result that will not only win them silverware in the shape of the 1872 Challenge Cup, but may be required to earn them a place in the PRO14 play-offs for the first time in their history and see them achieve their principal season’s target by securing a place in Europe’s top tier next season, depending on the result when Munster meet their play-off rivals Ulster earlier in the day.

“I feel like it’ll be a really good game on Saturday and if we play the brand of rugby we want to play we can definitely put our hand up for winning it,” he said.

“We know it’s a crucial game for us and we’ve not wanted to rely on anyone else’s results to decide whether we get into the play-offs, so we’re just thinking we really need to win and we know that if we play our style of rugby we’ve got a great shot at that. At the start of the season we set out goals and one of them was to get into the Champions Cup and the way we’ve played this season we’ve shown we deserve to be there and we’re proving to ourselves more than anyone else that we can be there, up there with the best teams. 

“We’ve been working hard all seasons and it’s getting closer, so games and results are getting more important, but I feel like we’re trying to focus on what we can control which is our performance at the weekend. If we win it will be a double bonus, getting the 1872 Cup and getting into the play-offs, so it will be a good weekend.”