Edinburgh Rugby return to scene of crime as Scotland Under 20 starlet set for senior debut
Trip to Treviso is chance to make up for last season
Edinburgh will look to right the wrongs of their previous trip to Treviso when they return to the scene of the crime on Saturday.
Sean Everitt's side suffered a 31-6 thrashing at the hands of Benetton on the final day of last season - a defeat which cost them a top eight finish in the URC and a place in the play-offs.
Edinburgh are seventh in the current standings but just two points separate them and Benetton in 13th in a tightly packed URC table where every point is a prisoner.
The capital club are having another up and down season with five wins and seven defeats thus far, but have been buoyed by an impressive 34-28 victory away to Munster in their previous outing three weeks ago.
Everitt believes his team can build on that eye-catching performance in Ireland and exorcise their Stadio Monigo demons.
"It’s a great opportunity to build on the momentum that we got from the Munster game," the head coach said. "It’s pretty much the same as last year: one week you can be 12th and the next week you can be sixth. And that’s what it is at the moment.
"It's a great challenge for us going to Treviso where in the past we haven’t done that well and got positive results, and last year was a good example of that. But we’ve got a group that are determined to get it right this time and that win a couple of weeks ago will help us with our confidence going away from home.
"We also learn from the lessons last year and what cost us there. Treviso gives you nothing on the rugby field. They're the most disciplined team in the URC. They're really structured around the kicking game. And last year we were caught out in trying to force certain things.
"It's a different team that we're taking this time around. We’re a team that's actually grown quite a lot over the last six weeks with confidence and with rugby ability and rugby understanding. We just know that we're in for a hell of a challenge."
Edinburgh are without a clutch of Scotland internationals, who are being rested following their Six Nations exertions, while injuries to Emiliano Boffelli and Harry Paterson have opened the door for Scotland Under 20 full-back Jack Brown to be handed a senior debut off the bench.
"Jack has been on the fringes of our selection," Everitt explained. "He is a guy that has the skill set that fits into our game model. He's good under the high ball, he keeps the ball a long way and on top of that, he's really good and strong in the contact as well as has good counter-attacking skills. That's what we need at the back. He is also well prepared and understands what we are doing. It's not his first week training with us.
"He's been training with us for a long period of time now so he understands it and he's a guy that can play both on the wing and at full-back. So, he certainly does help us out in that position when we do have injuries and I think he's now a competitor in that position. And who knows, if he goes well this weekend, he's a guy that could start next week."
Edinburgh team to face Bennetton (Saturday March 22, 3pm, live on Premier Sports): 15. Wes Goosen, 14. Matt Currie, 13. James Lang, 12. Mosese Tuipulotu, 11. Ross McCann, 10. Ross Thompson, 9. Ben Vellacott (c); 1 Boan Venter, 2. Ewan Ashman, 3. Paul Hill, 4. Marshall Sykes, 5. Sam Skinner, 6. Ben Muncaster, 7. Hamish Watson, 8. Magnus Bradbury.
Replacements: 16. Paddy Harrison, 17. Robin Hislop, 18. D’arcy Rae, 19. Glen Young, 20. Freddy Douglas, 21. Ali Price, 22. Cammy Scott, 23. Jack Brown.
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