Edinburgh Rugby big guns return and the four-year record the club is trying to emulate

Edinburgh made a winning start to the season under new coach Sean Everitt and their chances of making it two from two will be boosted this weekend with the return of a number of their international players from World Cup duty.

Scotland flanker Hamish Watson is back in training with Edinburgh Rugby and in line to feature against the Lions this weekend. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Grant Gilchrist, Hamish Watson, Blair Kinghorn, WP Nel, Ewan Ashman and Viliame Mata are all back in training and available for selection for Saturday’s home game against the Emirates Lions. All six missed the victory over the Dragons in Newport which saw Edinburgh come back from 17-6 down to win 22-17, with new stand-off Ben Healy kicking 17 points. You have to go back to 2019 for the last time Edinburgh won their first two games of the season and Everitt believes the returning players can add ballast against South African opponents who have got the better of the Scots in each of the last two United Rugby Championship campaigns.

“It’s great to have the guys back,” said Everitt, the South African who has taken over from Mike Blair. “They bring a lot of experience, especially after being at the World Cup, and they are happy to be back. They are comfortable in the environment and they will be in contention for the weekend. Pierre Schoeman isn’t available because he has a family bereavement and we’ve sent him back to South Africa to deal with that.”

Schoeman isn’t the only absentee. Duhan van der Merwe has been given extra time to rest after the World Cup while Darcy Graham and Jamie Ritchie are still recovering from injuries sustained in Scotland’s bruising defeat by Ireland in Paris. Van der Merwe is expected to be available for the round three fixture against Leinster in Dublin but Graham and Ritchie are facing another three to five weeks on the sidelines after suffering hip and rib damage, respectively.

Healy, who played in Scotland’s World Cup win over Romania, made an instant impact on his Edinburgh debut following his move from Munster. Despite having only a week to familiarise himself with his new team-mates, the fly-half produced a controlled performance in Wales and was deservedly named player of the match. As well as kicking five penalties and a conversion, he made the break which led to Edinburgh’s only try, scored by new captain Ben Vellacott. Healy’s 100 per cent accuracy off the tee was appreciated by Everitt who has regularly highlighted Edinburgh’s place-kicking profligacy last season. “He kicks very well and he got 11 out of 11 against Romania at the World Cup,” said Everitt. “That’s one of the reasons why we brought him to Edinburgh, but he’s also a quality player. He managed the game really well on Saturday in difficult conditions. The line speed that the Dragons brought on Saturday was hard for us to handle and Ben really helped us with his kicking.”

Healy was signed long before Everitt arrived but the coach admitted he had inherited a playmaker who fits his philosophy of playing rugby in the right areas. It’s a little more pragmatic than we’ve been used to seeing from Edinburgh under Blair, with more emphasis on the kicking game, but Everitt was pleased with how his new charges managed to turn it around against the Dragons with Healy at the controls. “I think we can be guilty of overplaying across the field,” said the new coach who revealed that Edinburgh kicked 27 times at Rodney Parade as they won away in the URC for the first time in almost a year. “They scored 17 points and sometimes you need to manage the game according to the momentum because it’s easier to look after the ball. I think we kicked more on Saturday than Edinburgh have kicked for a while but it certainly paid off in the end.”

Healy’s arrival is likely to see Kinghorn revert to full-back after two seasons at 10 but Everitt has not ruled out using the versatile Kinghorn at stand-off when the occasion demands. “There will be times when he might have to step in and cover us at 10,” said Everitt. “But primarily [I see him] as a full-back. I believe he’s got good counter-attacking ability and he’s got a good boot on him. He also needs to settle so I’d like to see him more at 15. I also like to work towards the national cause and they certainly see him in that position.”

This Saturday’s home match against the Lions should finish at around 7pm which should give Everitt and his players time to shower and change ahead of the World Cup final kicking off at eight. The coach, who worked with South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and hooker Bongi Mbonambi during his time as Sharks head coach, hopes they will have enough in the tank to beat New Zealand but has concerns in particular about Mbonambi who is the only recognised hooker in the Springboks squad and played the full semi-final against England.

“I’m sure they’ll recover well but they did look a bit fatigued and I think England took it out of them at the weekend,” said Everitt. “For me, the concern would be around Bongi Mbonambi going another 80 minutes. But he’s really done well and he’s led the pack well when the leaders have been off.”

Mbonambi has been accused of aiming a racist slur at England flanker Tom Curry during Saturday’s semi and World Rugby has said it will “review” the allegation. Everitt is hopeful the Boks player will be cleared. “I don’t know what he said, I don’t have any recordings of it, but I’m sure sanity will prevail,” said the Edinburgh coach.