Echoes of 2015 Rugby World Cup as Edinburgh bid to beat Bulls with fast start

Nine years and five days after they played together for Scotland against Japan at the Rugby World Cup, Mark Bennett and Matt Scott will reunite in the Edinburgh midfield for Saturday’s game against the Bulls in Pretoria.

With a combined age of 64, there is plenty of experience to draw on and if the pair can replicate what they produced at the 2015 tournament then there could be a favourable outcome for the capital side.

Bennett and Scott have been thrust into the vanguard due to injuries to Mosese Tuipulotu and Matt Currie, who have both been sidelined by hamstring issues sustained in last week’s narrow home defeat by Leinster on the opening night of the new United Rugby Championship season.

Edinburgh's Matt Scott scores a try against Leinster during the narrow defeat on the opening night of this season's BKT United Rugby Championship. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

With the young bucks unavailable, Sean Everitt has turned to two players with 69 caps between them. Scott, who turns 34 on Monday, returned to Edinburgh in the summer for a third spell at the club and impressed when he replaced Currie late against Leinster.

“I thought Matt [Scott] had a great game off the bench,” said Stevie Lawrie, the Edinburgh assistant coach. “It was great to see him back in that Edinburgh shirt. He hit some nice lines and one of the clips that we showed was him getting on that Ben Vellacott break where he came from miles back to score that try at the end to get us two points which says something about the group. We know we finished well.

“We want a fast start this weekend so we're keen to make sure do that and then we can finish strong. In terms of the centres, Mark Bennett, another experienced campaigner, him and Matt in the midfield is excellent. They started together against Japan nine years ago in the World Cup I’ve been told.”

Bennett, 31, scored a try double that afternoon at Kingsholm as Scotland won 45-10 and put Eddie Jones’ gas at a peep. The irascible Jones had guided Japan to a stunning win over South Africa just four days earlier and had confidently predicted that his team would “run Scotland off their feet” in Gloucester.

Mark Bennett in action for Scotland against Japan at the 2015 Rugby World Cup in Gloucester where he partnered Matt Scott in the centre. (Photo: Gary Hutchison/SNS)

It wasn’t to be. The seismic nature of their win over the Boks took its toll, as did the short turnaround, and the Scots won with something to spare to get their 2015 campaign up and running. It continued until the quarter-finals where they suffered that agonising 35-34 loss to Australia at Twickenham courtesy of Bernard Foley’s last-gasp penalty after a highly questionable decision by referee Craig Joubert.

It was the last time Scotland progressed beyond the group stage at a World Cup and if it all seems an awfully long time ago, then Scott and Bennett remain players with the pedigree and nous to unlock well organised defences which is what will be needed at Loftus Versfeld. Edinburgh came close to beating the Bulls on their own patch a couple of years ago when Henry Immelman missed with a late penalty in a 33-31 defeat. But they have beaten the South African side twice at home in the URC: 31-23 last season and 17-10 in 2021-22 when Magnus Bradbury was part of the Edinburgh team.

Bradbury is at No 8 this weekend for his first start since returning to the club after two seasons with Bristol Bears. He replaces Ben Muncaster who injured his hip against Leinster. None of the injuries to Tuiupulotu, Currie and Muncaster is considered too serious and they are the only changes Everitt has made to his starting XV as he looks for Edinburgh to kick-start their campaign against a Bulls side who are captained by Duhan van der Merwe’s brother, Akker, and have former Edinburgh man Jaco van der Walt at 10.

“We know the challenge that awaits us at Loftus,” said Everitt. “It will be a tough match but we’ve had a good week and are ready for the fight.”

Matt Scott, left, and Mark Bennett have been reunited at Edinburgh following the former's return to the club in the summer. (Photo by Gary Hutchison / SNS Group / SRU)

Vodacom Bulls v Edinburgh Rugby (URC, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, Saturday 2pm UK)

Vodacom Bulls: David Kriel; Canan Moodie, Stedman Gans, Barend Smit, Sebastian de Klerk; Jaco van der Walt, Embrose Papier; Alulutho Tshakweni, Akker van der Merwe (capt), Wilco Louw, Ruan Vermaak, Cobus Wiese, Nama Xaba, Jannes Kirsten, Cameron Hanekom. Replacements: Johan Grobbelaar, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Kloppers, JF van Heerden, Marcel Coetzee, Keegan Johannes, Boeta Chamberlain, Aphiwe Dyantyi.

Edinburgh Rugby: Wes Goosen; Darcy Graham, Mark Bennett, Matt Scott, Duhan van der Merwe; Ross Thompson, Ali Price; Pierre Schoeman, Dave Cherry, Paul Hill, Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist (capt), Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury. Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Boan Venter, D’arcy Rae, Jamie Hodgson, Tom Dodd, Ben Vellacott, Ben Healy, Ross McCann.

Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU).