Sean Everitt has admitted that the future of key forward Bill Mata at Edinburgh could be limited, after reports emerged linking the Fijian with a move to Bristol Bears.

Mata joined Edinburgh in 2016 shortly after winning an Olympic gold medal in sevens and has been remarkably loyal since. However, at 32-years-old he could be tempted by a big-money move, and senior coach Everitt knows he may lack the funds to compete with offers from the English Premiership for a player who has been said to earn £450,000 a year.

“It depends what the offer is and the finances involved,” he said when asked if it would be worth keeping Mata. “As a person we would be delighted to keep him here – he is well liked in the squad and that plays a big part in trying to keep someone here and gives us hope. But at the end of the day we are not in control of the finances. Whatever comes of it, we’ll support him either way. It would be great if Edinburgh could keep him. Bill is one of the best players in his position and a sought after player, but we just don't know at this stage what the final offers are.”

Edinburgh's Bill Mata has been linked with Bristol Bears.

When Toulouse bought out Blair Kinghorn’s contract recently, Everitt expressed the hope that he would be able to reinvest that money in his squad. Scottish Rugby said the French club had paid “a six-figure sum” for the full-back.

Meanwhile, Scotland winger Darcy Graham could make his comeback from a hip injury in the team’s Challenge Cup tie at home to Castres on Saturday. Argentine full-back Emiliano Boffelli, who has also yet to play since the World Cup because of a foot injury, is on track to return to action in the first leg of the 1872 Cup double-header against Glasgow at Scotstoun a week on Friday.

Edinburgh announced yesterday that they have now sold more than 20,000 tickets for the return leg against the Warriors at Murrayfield on Saturday, December 30. They are now hopeful of beating the attendance record for the fixture – 27,437, set in 2019.

Edinburgh address Bill Mata situation amid Bristol Bears speculation as key duo give fitness boost