After dropping Blair Kinghorn just days after he made Six Nations Championship history Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend admitted it had been harder than expected to disappoint the youngster, but insisted that it was the right thing to do.

The 21-year-old was the first ever Scot to score a Six Nations Championship hat-trick against Italy on Saturday, but he has been left out in favour of Sean Maitland, who is reunited in an established back three with former Glasgow Warriors team-mates and fellow British & Irish Lions tourists Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour.

Townsend admitted that Kinghorn’s dismay on being dropped to the bench seemed evident, but that the decision had been in what the management believe to be the team’s best interests and that he expects the right reaction, saying: “Players take it differently… sometimes they’re quiet, sometimes they’re accepting and sometimes they argue back. Blair was quiet,” he said. “He’ll be disappointed, I know. We have a huge responsibility and privilege, selecting a team, that you’re giving players an opportunity on one hand and on the other hand you’re not selecting them to start for the country, but Blair has done nothing wrong.

“You have got to be motivated to improve yourself first of all.

“There is also the proving of what you’re capable of and delivering it out on the field and Blair did that at the weekend.”