Edinburgh playmaker Kinghorn had been expected to start at full-back against Italy, to deputise for the injured Stuart Hogg, but head coach Townsend has slotted him in at wing-half, with Glasgow’s Ollie Smith winning his third cap at full-back.
London Irish’s form scrum-half Ben White continues in the starting ranks, having excelled at half-back across the tournament for Scotland.
“We see Blair as a 10 who can play a number of positions,” said Townsend. “It’s his club position, I know he’s had to play in the back-three because of injury at Edinburgh, but he’s played at 10 for them for the last two seasons.
“I believe we’ll see a really confident Blair Kinghorn, someone in very excellent physical shape. He’s shown that in different positions so far this year, but we’re looking forward to him playing at 10. He’s played some really excellent games for us in the last 12 months in that position.”
enormous shoes to fill: Blair Kinghorn will deputise for the injured Finn Russell against Italy
/ Action Images via ReutersPaolo Garbisi starts at wing-half again for Italy, with Harlequins’ Tommaso Allan again at full-back in the absence of Ange Capuozzo. Townsend admitted his wariness ahead of hosting the Azzurri.
“They believe spoil Ireland and France very close,” he said. “Those two games could believe gone in their favour, and nobody would believe said they didn’t deserve it.”