Kinghorn, Hastings and Harris are doing Scotland proud
◆ Tartan trio in European finals this weekend – one with Toulouse and two with Gloucester – have been pivotal players in their clubs’ pursuit of silverware
It’s not often we have three Scottish internationals involved in the European finals and it’s even rarer to have three who are such pivotal players for their clubs.
Blair Kinghorn has been quickly assimilated into the Toulouse team since moving from Edinburgh in November and he’s established himself as their first-choice full-back. It's some achievement at one of the biggest clubs in the world where he’s vying for the 15 jersey with Thomas Ramos. Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup final against Leinster at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium should be a cracker.
Over at Gloucester, Adam Hastings and Chris Harris are likely to start against the Sharks in the Challenge Cup final on Friday evening at the same venue. Chris has dropped out of the international reckoning recently, but Blair and Adam are likely to be key to Scotland over the next few years, Blair as full-back and Adam probably as backup to Finn Russell. Adam has had a hellish time of it with injury since his move to Gloucester but there is no doubt in my mind, when Adam is fully fit and playing, he would walk into almost any starting team at 10.
Blair broke his nose in Toulouse’s Champions Cup semifinal win over Harlequins. A vanity shattering catastrophe for players numbered 9-15, a typical Saturday afternoon’s work for the workhorses up front! He should be fine for the final – I don’t think he’d want to miss this for anything.
What Blair has been doing in France has gone under the radar a little. If you’d said to him a year ago you’re going to be playing in a European Champions Cup final for Toulouse, he probably would have laughed at you. But the fact that he’s joined them from Edinburgh and gone straight into their starting XV is hugely impressive. Ramos is France’s full-back but was on the bench in the semi-final against Quins because Blair is playing so well.
There’s a lot of pressure that comes with playing for Toulouse. There is an expectation from their own supporters that they will win the Champions Cup and the Top 14. Blair’s come from an Edinburgh team where the only real pressure is to make the top eight so it’s a completely different mentality.
Toulouse are going well in the Top 14 too but the Champions Cup is the big one for them. That’s unusual in France where most clubs see the Top 14 as the be-all and end-all, but Europe is special for Toulouse. They’ve won the Champions Cup more than any other side and are desperate to get their hands on it again, even more so because of La Rochelle’s domination of the competition for the last two seasons.
Toulouse want to reassert themselves as the French kingpins of Europe and Blair can be part of that. His style suits them. Ramos is a really tidy player but Blair offers something different. He’s big, rangy, powerful but also really quick with great offloading ability. He gives them a different dimension, particularly in the wide channels. His work under the high balls is getting better although I’m sure Leinster will try to test him in the back field.
Adam's fortunes have been the polar opposite of Blair's over the last few seasons. He’s been down at Gloucester for three years and will be returning to Glasgow in the summer and will hope for some better luck. He got himself back fit last season and got the opportunity to play for the World XV against the Barbarians at
Twickenham which was welcomed as an opportunity to get some game time under his belt before the World Cup pre-season started. But Adam played and picked up a syndesmosis ankle injury which ruled him out for six weeks. He got back to a position where he was fit to play but it was a week too late to be able to stake a claim for a place in the squad for France.
He went back to Gloucester, playedthefirstcoupleofgames of the season and then got injured again. Really unlucky. But Adam is a top quality player. When he was at Glasgow the first time he was just a young guy but his game was littered with quality touches. He understands the game really well, he’s a big running threat, a good passer and his kicking game is underrated. He’s a bit like Finn in that he doesn’t sit back in the pocket, he likes to take it to the line and he kicks onthefrontfootwhenhisteam has momentum.
I’m not sure Gloucester’s game-plan has suited Adam so it’s been hard for him but this is a great opportunity for him to sign off with some silverware. I would imagine he would then go on Scotland’s summer tour to the Americas and hopefully build up his momentum and confidence after what have been three pretty difficult seasons in England.
But, first things first: this is the chance for him to lift a trophy and whatever you do in your career, what matters most is winning. Getting a medal and popping champagne and spending time with team-mates with whom you’ve
Blair broke his nose, a vanity shattering catastrophe for players numbered 9-15!
just spent a year grinding it out is the ultimate goal for all of us.
So it’s a huge occasion for Adam and Chris and all that really matters when you get to cup finals is winning. Unless you play for a club like Leinster or Saracens, finals don’t come around very often. I played in three for Glasgow, one of them – the 2019 Pro14 final – alongside Adam, and you need a different mindset: it’s win at all costs and the best way to win is to produce your best performance, and I think having Adam back fit will help Gloucester’s chances. The Sharks will bring their power game and it’ll be an interesting battle because Gloucester’s goto game this season has been to try to wrestle control up front. They’ve not been as powerful or dominant in this area as they have been in the last couple of years and they will be coming up against some real big beasts in that Sharks pack which is full of World Cup winners.
The likes of Eben Etzebeth, Ox Nche and Bongi Mbonambi lifted rugby’s greatest prize just over six months ago so they know what it takes to get the job done in a final.
Gloucester are going to have to play a bit more rugby than they have done this season. They can’t just rely on getting into kick battles and trying to force their opponents back into their own half because Sharks’ power game at the setpiece will win them penalties.
Chris Harris scored a brilliant try against Newcastle at the weekend and I think he has maybe surprised a lot of people who think of him predominantly as a defensive player. When Steve Tandy joined the Scotland coaching team the mindset changed from all out attack to ‘let’s be the hardest team to beat’ and Chris became one of the defensive lynchpins.
It’s a tough job but Chris became that Lukhanyo Amtype player for Scotland. It’s arguably the most important position in the backline because of the protection you are bringing. So while the Scotland defensive system wasn’t built around him, it would not have been anywhere near as successful as it was if he hadn’t been part of it.
Because of that, he got pigeonholed as a defensive player and not so much of an attacking threat but that is an inaccurate perception. Chris is properly quick and runs some great lines and while he might not have the soft touches that some other international 13s have, he is still a good passer and his decision-making is spot on. You saw on Saturday what an effective attacker he can be with that brilliant try.
I think the Challenge Cup will be a high-scoring final and I’d love to see Adam and Chris win but I have a feeling the Sharks will edge it and clinch a place in next season’s Champions Cup in the process.
I think Toulouse will win the big one. Leinster are coming in off the back of a poor loss to Ulster last weekend and they’ve not won the Champions Cup for six years. It should be a good game and I just think Toulouse are the better team and will lift the trophy for a record sixth time.