Jamie Ritchie urged to play himself into contention for Scotland v England as he is named Edinburgh captain

Seven Scotland players released to capital club for match against Zebre

Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt has urged Jamie Ritchie and the rest of the club’s returning Scotland players to give Gregor Townsend a selection headache for the Calcutta Cup.

Ritchie was dropped by the national side for last weekend’s Six Nations clash with France, just four months after captaining Scotland at the Rugby World Cup. He is back on club duty this week and will skipper Edinburgh against Zebre on Friday evening as they look to strengthen their position in the play-off places of the United Rugby Championship. Ritchie, 27, is one of seven players from Scotland’s Six Nations squad who have been picked by Everitt for the match in Parma.

WP Nel, who sat out the first two rounds against Wales and France with a neck strain, starts for Edinburgh as he looks to prove his fitness for the round three game with England at Murrayfield on February 24. Harry Paterson is named in the capital side, six days after his impressive Scotland debut in the narrow loss to the French. Paterson, who played at full-back last weekend, switches to the wing for Edinburgh, with Emiliano Boffelli wearing 15. There are also starts for Ali Price, Ben Healy and Glen Young, while Javan Sebastian is on the bench. All four are part of Townsend’s Six Nations squad but have not seen any action in the championship so far.

Jamie Ritchie will captain Edinburgh against Zebre in Italy. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Ritchie was stood down as Scotland captain before the tournament because Townsend could not guarantee his place in the team, although he started in the opening win over Wales. He was then left out of the match-day 23 for the France match but Everitt believes he can play his way back into favour.

“It’s great to have Jamie back, particularly in the leadership role,” said the Edinburgh coach. “I think it will help him regain confidence after the disappointment that he’s gone through. He’s really motivated to do well, and leadership does motivate Jamie. So it’s great that he gets an opportunity to come in and start, and lead the team, to put himself into contention for selection against England next week.”

Nel’s potential availability for the Calcutta Cup game would provide a timely lift given his vast experience. He started in last year’s win at Twickenham and came off the bench in the victories over England in 2021 and 2022. “He’s gone really well at training,” said Everitt. “Last week we managed his scrumming load and he’s good to go. He’ll be sharing tighthead with Javan Sebastian this weekend.”

“There’s a good opportunity for Scotland to beat England again,” added Everitt. “And I say again because they seem to be doing it regularly now. Our players will definitely be motivated to put in their best performances and they can give Gregor some headaches at the Monday morning selection meeting.”

It’s Edinburgh’s first URC outing since they beat Glasgow Warriors 19-14 at Murrayfield on December 30. Hamish Watson will play his 150th match for the capital side, becoming just the 11th player in the club’s history to reach the landmark.

Everitt has identified the Zebre game as a chance for his sixth-placed side to move up the standings, noting that a lot of the teams in the top eight are playing against each other this weekend.

Edinburgh team (v Zebre Parma, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, BKT United Rugby Championship, Friday, 7.35pm GMT): 15. Emiliano Boffelli; 14. Harry Paterson, 13. Matt Currie, 12. James Lang, 11. Chris Dean; 10. Ben Healy, 9. Ali Price; 1. Boan Venter, 2. Dave Cherry, 3. WP Nel, 4. Marshall Sykes, 5. Glen Young, 6. Jamie Ritchie (capt), 7. Hamish Watson, 8. Viliame Mata. Replacements: 16. Paddy Harrison, 17. Luan de Bruin, 18. Javan Sebastian, 19. Tom Dodd, 20. Connor Boyle , 21. Ben Vellacott, 22. Mark Bennett, 23. Nathan Sweeney.