Edinburgh team-mate Grant Gilchrist has backed Blair Kinghorn to shine in the Scotland fly-half shirt after Finn Russell was controversially snubbed.

Kinghorn is set to be named in the number 10 jersey for Scotland’s opening Autumn Nations Series game against Australia at Murrayfield on Saturday.

This comes after Russell was left out of the squad announced last week, with coach Gregor Townsend believing he was lacking in “form and consistency”.

That means it’s highly likely Kinghorn will get the nod as playmaker for Scotland‘s year-end internationals, something Gilchrist believes he will relish.

Backing Blair Kinghorn to shine

“I see Blair day in and day out, and I see the growth in his game at 10,” said the second-row. “He’s one of the most influential players and characters in our squad at Edinburgh. We rely on him heavily and I know what he can bring.

“When he does that, and he applies that to this environment, I’ve no doubt in his ability to lead the attack and boss the game as a 10. His ability speaks for itself.”

Scotland will be desperate to put a solid run of results together in the autumn as their hot and cold form on the international stage is well documented.

Gilchrist admits that will be key as they want to compete with the top nations on a regular basis, which is vital when the Rugby World Cup takes place.

“We’ve shown in most games we’ve played, if not all, when we get the best version of ourselves we’re good enough to beat any team,” he said. “I’ve no doubt about that. Our consistency hasn’t been good enough.

“That’s what we’re working to, through training and through games, how can we get the best version of ourselves on the pitch? There will be key minutes within that we have to be very good and ruthless.

“Through 2022 we had some big moments go against us, and had we been better in those pressure situations you’re looking at a very different set of results.

“That’s the biggest focus, that consistency. And the big moments in Test matches, we need to be really good in those. The best teams are especially good in those moments.

Improvements needed for Scotland

“The sort of thing we’ve looked at is our response to things going wrong in a game. There’s no such thing as a perfect 80 minutes, but the best teams bounce back, don’t piggy-back mistakes. You can’t go from error to error.

“It’s about having that switch and the ability at the right times, to make the right decisions. We have to find those solutions in game. That’s how we grow as a team, and it comes from the senior guys.”

Saturday’s game against Australia promises to be another tense affair between the sides but recent form has been in Scotland’s favour which is a boost.

“Our recent record has been outstanding, but every time we play at home we feel the responsibility to perform, for our country and for the people who are watching there or at home,” said Gilchrist. “The record doesn’t change anything, I’m sure they’ll be gunning for us.

“That feeling of they owe us one, we have to make sure we’re ready for that. We’ve had exceptional performances against them but it takes that, they’re a top-class team with top-class coaches. We’re under no illusions, it has to be our best performance.”

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