Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt insists he has had no second thoughts about selecting Blair Kinghorn to play against Ulster on Saturday night, despite the fact that the full-back is due to leave for Toulouse the following day.
Everitt believes that Kinghorn’s continued commitment to the cause was evident in last week’s home loss to Benetton, in which the Scotland player scored two tries but also gave one away with a wild pass close to his own line. And he sees no reason why that should be any different in Belfast this week.
“Blair was really good on Friday night,” he 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.
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“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.”
Everitt had originally hoped to have Darcy Graham back for the trip to Belfast, but the Scotland winger is now not due back from injury until the Challenge Cup game at home to Castres on 16 December.
Hamish Watson is available after injury, however, and is set to take over at openside from Connor Boyle, while his fellow-back-row forward Bill Mata is also 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.
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