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'Happy' Kinghorn relishing life at Toulouse / Photo: © AFP
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'Happy' Kinghorn relishing life at Toulouse
Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn only arrived at Toulouse in December but his record since then has been beyond reproach.
A Top 14 and Champions Cup winner, he can also boast a 100 percent winning record with his new club ahead of Saturday's encounter at Montpellier.
"Sixteen games, 16 wins. I don't think I'm the lucky charm, but I'm happy to be here," the 27-year-old told the pre-match press conference on Friday.
Kinghorn started the 2023-2024 season with his long-time club, Edinburgh, before coming to the banks of the Garonne, Toulouse paying a six-figure fee to buy out his contract.
He quickly found his feet, scoring two tries on his debut against Cardiff in the Champions Cup. He scored another in the Top 14 final against Bordeaux-Begles which Toulouse went on to win 59-3.
"It's been really crazy," he said.
"I arrived just December last year. I never thought I would be in a place to be playing in these big final games for Toulouse last season and to go and win the Champions Cup and the Top 14 is something I wouldn't have thought about.
"It's crazy."
- 'Physical' -
The solidly built Kinghorn -- he stands six foot four inches (1.94m) in his socks and weighs in at 107 kilogrammes -- is certainly enjoying the physicality of the Top 14 which attracts top players from all around the world.
"In the Top 14, teams are very physical," he said.
"A lot of the teams have big forward packs and they like to impose a physical game through scrum or maul.
"It's certainly a more physical league (than the United Rugby Championship). There's a lot of games. It's week in, week out."
He has also adapted swiftly and smoothly to the constant motion and invention of a Toulouse game fired by the likes of France stars Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack.
The Scotsman adapted so well, in fact, that for the Champions Cup final against Leinster he was preferred at full-back to France regular Thomas Ramos.
"The style of rugby is different. Lots of short passes, lots of players touching the ball.
"Everyone is on the same game plan in their head. People play on instinct, if they see a hole they'll go for it.
"It's different to what I was used to before I came here. I think it suits me the style of rugby here.
"I really like the style. It's good for me. You get your hands on the ball a lot. It feels like it's just playing on their instincts and that's really good".
Saturday takes him to Montpellier, new home of his former Scotland teammate and captain Stuart Hogg.
"I'm not sure if he's playing or not, but if he is it would be a funny moment," said Kinghorn.
"I've not seen Hoggy in a while. Last time I played against him would have been for Edinburgh against Glasgow probably six or seven years ago, it's been a long time."
Kinghorn will certainly be looking to extend his winning ways to give Toulouse a third win on the bounce in the new season.
The last time he was on a losing side was in March when Scotland went down 17-13 to Ireland in the Six Nations.
"That was the last taste of defeat," he said. "Hopefully it doesn't come around again any time soon."
P.Grazvydas--BTZ
