A British & Irish Lions call-up is the latest step on the gently inexorable rise of Blair Kinghorn.
The full-back arrives to don the famous red jersey at the peak of his powers, having earned his stripes at his hometown club before sealing a move to France.
Now the 28-year-old is one of the finest No.15s in the world game, something he will hope to demonstrate in Australia this summer.
This is journey to the top.
Home is where the Hearts is
The talents of elite sportspeople are very rarely limited to one sport, and Kinghorn was no different.
With the same relative pace and stature he possess today, Kinghorn was a budding footballer as well as rugby player in his youth.
Kinghorn was coached by his dad Simon while playing for Tynecastle Boys’ Club until the age of 14 and even caught the eye of Edinburgh giants Hearts for his performances as a budding young centre back.
It could have been the boys in maroon rather than the sea of red, but Kinghorn opted for the oval ball as a teenager when forced to choose, and has never looked back since.
“I didn’t enjoy it,” he told the Scotsman. “Naively, I thought it would be similar to my boys’ club, and I would have a laugh, but it was very serious.
“The training was performance-driven with a lot of coaches scrutinising you in almost a professional way.
“Aged 15 I had to decide between the two sports. Rugby was going well at school, so I canned the football. I joined Currie and we won everything at under-16s including the Scottish Cup.
“I don’t look back over my shoulder at football. Not even when players are being transferred for a hundred million – honest!”
Edinburgh education
Kinghorn continued his rugby education at Currie Rugby Club alongside his exploits for Edinburgh Academy, where he studied.
By the time Edinburgh Rugby came calling with a two-year contract in 2015, Kinghorn had already impressed at under-18 level with Scotland.
He represented his country at that summer’s World Rugby Under-20 Championship and kicked 14 points in Scotland’s 29-6 victory over Argentina.
"Everything seems to be happening quickly at the moment, and I just need to keep working hard and take the opportunity I've been given with both hands," he said at the time.
"I'm in my last year at school and I'll be sitting exams while I'm out in Italy, too."
Hometown hero
After signing professional terms with Edinburgh, Kinghorn made his professional debut the following season against Zebre. He impressed enough to start a week later against Connacht and soon became a regular starter for the capital side.
It wasn’t always plain sailing however, with Kinghorn revealing in 2019 that some harsh words from former England international Richard Cockerill, labelling him ‘too erratic’ was what he needed as a fledgling ful-back.
“He said what he said at the time, and I’d like to think I knuckled down,” reflected Kinghorn.
“I’ve got him to thank for any development that’s happened in my game and I’m sure that when I got capped, he was the first to say: ‘Well done.’”
He became the youngest player to play 100 times for Edinburgh, doing so aged 24 years and 17 days when he brought up his century against rivals Glasgow Warriors in 2021.
By that time, Kinghorn was already a talismanic figure for an Edinburgh side who never managed to quite get over the line in the URC or European competition.
When French giants Toulouse came calling towards the end of 2023, Kinghorn was ready for a new chapter after eight years with his hometown side.
“This has been a really tough decision,” said Kinghorn. “I’ve called this place home for nine years and have massive loyalty to this club.
“It gave me everything in my career so far and was the start of my professional rugby journey. I feel like they’ve really got the best out of me.
“Joining Toulouse is an opportunity that’s come forward that I think will be good for me as a person, and to develop my career and my game. It’s a big decision, but I feel like it’s the right move for me.
“I’m really grateful to Edinburgh, for seeing this as great opportunity for me to develop personally and as a rugby player, but it is still going to be a sad day.”
French beginnings
Kinghorn joined a star-studded Toulouse squad in December 2023, and made an immediate impression with two tries on debut in the Champions Cup against Cardiff.
It would prove a good omen for the Scotsman, who would go on to play a key role as Toulouse claimed their sixth European crown in London.
Kinghorn started all four knockout matches, including the final where he kicked 12 points to help his side to a 31-22 victory over Leinster.
"If you'd told me in November I'd be a Champions Cup winner, I'd not believe you and now here I am. Proud to be part of this team," Kinghorn told ITV4.
"It's unbelievable, I'm lost for words. I'm absolutely exhausted, the boys put in a hell of a shift.
"It's a great environment to grow and develop as a rugby player. To be given a shot to start in a European Cup final is something I never thought would happen. You come in every day, you have to work hard for your position and for the team."
Kinghorn also added a Top 14 title to his collection in the same season, scoring a try in Toulouse’s 59-3 demolition of Bordeaux in the final, having also scored his side’s first try in the semi-final against La Rochelle.
His second season has seen Kinghorn continue to operate at the highest level, despite an injury curtailing his season, with Toulouse having clinched a home semi-final by finishing top of the league.
“Winning stuff is always the goal, and now that I’ve been able to do that with Toulouse, it was unbelievable last season, it was incredible, and it just makes you hungry to win things again,” he said.
“I think it’s been a great move for me, challenging myself week in, week out with some of the best players in the world in a top team.
“The style of rugby at Toulouse is really suited to me, and I feel like I’ve kind of taken that, not next step, but I feel like I have improved in my game, that’s for sure.”
International lynchpin
Throughout his career, Kinghorn has been a regular for his country at both age grade and senior level and is now one of Gregor Townsend’s key players in navy.
Kinghorn earned caps under-17, under-18, and under-20 level before a first senior call-up came in 2018.
A debut came against England in the 2018 Six Nations, before he became the first Scot in 30 years to score a hat-trick when he dotted down three times against Italy.
Kinghorn repeated the feat in 2023, by which time he had cemented himself as one of Scotland’s brightest lights in an attacking line that includes fellow Lions Finn Russell and Sione Tuipulotu.
Capable of playing on the wing, at fly-half and at full-back, it is in the latter position that he has settled for Scotland.
He returns to the international arena with the Lions off the back of dazzling form for his country, having been included in the 2025 Six Nations Team of the Championship and nominated for Player of the Championship.
Family affair
Kinghorn is not the only one of his family to represent Scotland, with cousin Gregor Brown also a recent part of the set-up.
Behind him all the way, too, is his granny who has been supporting him throughout his career.
“She’s my biggest fan,” he told the Scotsman. “I love that I get a text from her before every match, always ‘Good luck – Granny.’
“She’s a season ticket-holder at Edinburgh and it was class her being with mum and dad to see me win my first cap. Thankfully I didn’t drop the ball.”
