Edinburgh Rugby miss key duo and Scotland cap has played last game for club

The capital squad head to Galway without Grant Gilchrist and Jamie Ritchie as they look to break into the top eight.

They are currently 10th with two rounds remaining of the regular season. Gilchrist is rested after playing six games in a row and Ritchie misses out due to a concussion suffered in last week’s Challenge Cup defeat by Bath. He should return for next week’s home game with Ulster. They are replaced by Marshall Sykes and Ben Muncaster.

“What I'm looking for this week is for more accuracy in what we're good at,” said Everitt, the Edinburgh coach. “We weren't accurate in our attack and we allowed Bath to disrupt us at the breakdown, which was part of their plan and well done to them. We know that if we play well as a group, we can get the result and that's what's needed.”

Given they are two points off the top eight, Edinburgh may need bonus-point wins in their final two matches to make the URC play-offs.

“We've got to win the game first,” cautioned Everitt. “But obviously, the bonus point is in the back of our minds. Ten points would be great over the next two weeks. We've got to be mindful that Connacht is also a proud club and difficult to beat at home. So, we'll go for the win first and if those opportunities present themselves, then we'll certainly take them.”

Everitt reported that Dave Cherry had suffered a setback in his recovery from a knee injury and would not feature again this season. It means the Scotland hooker has played his last game for Edinburgh as he will move to French side Vannes in the summer.

Harry Paterson could return from concussion to face Ulster next weekend but the game will come too soon for Duhan van der Merwe who is out with an ankle injury. Everitt is hopeful he could feature in the play-offs should Edinburgh qualify.

Jack Brown comes in on the wing against Connacht and Mosese Tuipulotu starts at centre after his try-scoring performance off the bench against Bath. Young back-rower Liam McConnell is named among the replacements.

Connacht v Edinburgh (URC rd 17, Dexcom Stadium, Galway, Saturday, 7.35pm)

Connacht: Santiago Cordero; Shayne Bolton, Hugh Gavin, Bundee Aki, Finn Treacy; JJ Hanrahan, Ben Murphy; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Josh Murphy, Darragh Murray, Cian Prendergast (capt), Conor Oliver, Sean Jansen. Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Jack Aungier, Oisín Dowling, Paul Boyle, Caolin Blade, Cathal Forde, David Hawkshaw.

Edinburgh: Wes Goosen; Darcy Graham, Matt Currie, Mosese Tuipulotu, Jack Brown; Ross Thompson, Ali Price; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D’arcy Rae, Marshall Sykes, Sam Skinner, Ben Muncaster, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury (capt). Replacements: Paddy Harrison, Boan Venter, Javan Sebastian, Glen Young, Liam McConnell, Charlie Shiel, Ben Healy, James Lang.

Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU).