I watched Edinburgh Rugby lose to Toulon and noted classy operator and relished pretender to throne battle

Edinburgh Rugby kicked off their 2026/27 Challenge Cup campaign with a 27-17 defeat by Toulon at Hive Stadium.

It was a disappointing outcome for the capital outfit, who lost for the first time this season after starting their URC campaign with a bang.

Mark Atkinson was at Hive Stadium to cover the match for The Scotsman and picks out three talking points:

Toulon get to grips with Edinburgh Rugby scrum-half Hector Patterson. | SNS Group

Defeat far from fatal for Edinburgh

After commencing the URC season with three wins, expectations were raised that this Edinburgh side could cause damage to a Toulon outfit in flux after the departure of head coach Pierre Mignoni. As it was, Toulon were excellent and thoroughly deserved the spoils.

Nevertheless, Edinburgh should not be too disheartened about their Challenge Cup aspirations. Playing the French side, who are serial finalists of this competition, will be their toughest assignment of the pool phase and the rest of their fixtures appear winnable.

Next up is a trip to Brittany in December to play Vannes at the Stade de la Rabine, a place that Edinburgh have ventured to before. Their former hooker Dave Cherry plays for the Pro D2s side, who are not one of the powerhouses of French rugby given they are in the second tier. Edinburgh should be eyeing a win there.

After the festive period, Harlequins come to the capital and then Edinburgh head to Georgia to face Black Lion. Both are the sort of game Sean Everitt’s side will fancy their chances in.

Reaching the knock-out stages is entirely achievable. Three of the six teams in the pool qualify automatically and finishing fourth could bring progression too.

Too many errors

Edinburgh haven’t been overly error-strewn this season, but they gave Toulon too many gifts at the Hive.

The hosts conceded 26 turnovers and were picked off in the lineout during the first half, with Ewan Ashman’s deliveries a little inaccurate. They did improve as the game went on, with the hooker’s try off the back of an intelligent play with Tom Currie. And while the scrum fared pretty well, Edinburgh failed to take advantage when camped on the Toulon tryline on three occasions in a stodgy opening 40 minutes.

Their two tries came from breakaways - Edinburgh required more guile in the build-up. Winger Darcy Graham, on his return to action from injury, didn’t see enough ball in the hour he was on the pitch.

Toulon defended well and were clearly up for the fight. They put pressure on Edinburgh and got their rewards.

Ben White dictated play for Toulon. | SNS Group

Patterson v White

There was an intriguing sub-plot at the Hive, with Toulon’s captain Ben White playing in the shadows of Murrayfield, a stadium he so often shines in for Scotland. The scrum-half was up against a potential Scots No 9 in Hector Patterson, who has started the season brightly and could be a wildcard pick for national team head coach Gregor Townsend.

Patterson had some nice moments, but White really took the game by the scruff of its neck. He clearly enjoyed being on Scottish soil and dictated a lively backline. He celebrated gleefully at the end and showed the maturity and intelligence to reinforce why he is Scotland’s first pick in that position.

Patterson could still sneak into the Scotland squad when it is named on Tuesday. White is a certainty, Jamie Dobie can cover wing and scrum-half, so he is up against the likes of George Horne and Ali Price. It is a welcome issue for Townsend to have.

A word should also be given to Toulon full-back Melvyn Jaminet, who scored two tries and his 22-point haul - the first of which was an impressive kick-and-chase down the touchline. The France internationalist was a classy operator.

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