Gregor Brown has never had to look too far for a role model to inspire him along his rugby journey.
The versatile forward is one of a clutch of young players to have emerged from the Glasgow Warriors’ academy, become a first-team regular, and then a full Scotland international.
Brown, 23, has made two appearances off the bench in this year’s Six Nations but is in contention to start this weekend’s Calcutta Cup match at Twickenham.
What a moment that will be for the Aberdonian and his wider family given there is every chance he will line up alongside his cousin, Blair Kinghorn.
The latter’s journey, from Edinburgh prospect to Scotland cap and then Champions Cup winner with Toulouse, has provided the blueprint for Brown to follow.
The pair had never played together until Brown emerged as a second-half replacement in the victory over Italy at the start of this month, a proud moment for both men and their relatives.
Gregor Brown and Blair Kinghorn shared the field for Scotland against Italy recently
The beaming cousins wave to family members as their long-held dream is realised
Kinghorn is one of Gregor Townsend’s key men and will play a big role against England
‘Me and Blair are cousins – our mums are sisters,’ said Brown, revealing a fact of which only a few people close to the pair in the Scotland squad seemed to be aware.
‘He’s someone that I’ve looked up to for a long time. I was still at school when he started playing for Edinburgh and then I got to watch him play for Scotland.
‘To see him make his debut when we beat England in 2018 was class. I was in a Scotland Under-17s training camp that day and I remember watching it in a hotel somewhere in Stirling after training. I think Blair came on for the last 10 or 15 minutes.
‘It was always a dream to play with him for Scotland so that was great to finally do it. I remember playing against him in an 1872 Cup match a few years ago which was cool enough. But to play alongside him was such a huge thing for both of us and our families.
‘It was something that I thought was going to happen in the autumn. Then I got injured, which was pretty upsetting. But to do it recently was really cool.
‘It would be huge for our families if we both made the team again this weekend. Playing away in a Calcutta Cup together would be unreal.’
Growing up in separate cities, the pair’s paths didn’t cross too regularly as children.
However, as Brown’s career began to take flight, there was one person in particular two whom he would look for advice and guidance.
Kinghorn has achieved major European honours with Toulouse… and had fun in the process
‘I lived up in Aberdeen and he was down in Edinburgh so we just saw each other at family events, But I’d say we were close cousins. I definitely dropped him a message about a few things rugby-wise early on in my career.
‘Having someone who’d been there and done that in the family was huge for me. Just being able to know I could reach out and ask questions and get his advice.
‘Especially now he’s such an experienced player and a real calm head around the squad. He is someone I feel really comfortable speaking to about different things.’
The second biggest influence on Brown’s career has been Franco Smith, the head coach at Warriors who developed him to feel as comfortable in the second row as he did in the back.
With Wales keen on taking the South African to lead their own national team, Brown is among those hoping he doesn’t leave.
‘Franco’s been huge for me,’ he said. ‘Luckily enough, I was still pretty young when he first came in at Glasgow. On a personal level, I definitely owe a lot to him. He pushes you hard and has such a huge energy for rugby. He’s so enthusiastic about what he does.
Brown is hoping to play his part in Scotland’s bid for a fifth consecutive Calcutta Cup triumph
‘He saw me as an option to play in the second row. Previously, I was just an out-and-out back row. He pushed me to develop those skills. From a team point of view, having taken us to the URC final and obviously winning it, he has been huge in pushing a lot of the boys’ mental boundaries on what we thought was possible.
‘Him winning the URC, for a coach to do that there’s always going to be interest elsewhere. Obviously it comes down to his personal decisions, but I know for us boys at Glasgow, he’d be a big loss.’
Scotland have spent this week in Spain to prepare for Twickenham, and Brown reckons the trip has been worthwhile, both on and off the training pitch.
‘It’s been really good in the sense of breaking up the Six Nations and getting a bit of a change of scene. It was nice to get a look around and switch off from rugby for a little bit before we get our teeth into the week.’
