Sean Everitt chasing Edinburgh first as head coach eyes ‘special’ finish to URC season

The capital club have known for some weeks that they were out of contention for the play-offs. However, that hasn’t stopped them from putting in some very strong performances, most recently a win over Dragons at Rodney Parade.

That result made it three wins in a row for Sean Everitt’s side and a victory over the Irish outfit in round 18 would see them end the campaign on a four-game streak. It would be the first time the South African has managed that since taking over as head coach in 2023.

“Important” for Edinburgh to finish season on a high as play-off chasing Connacht visit the Hive

“It's important for us,” said Everitt. “We're really excited about tomorrow night and what it can bring. We're expecting a full house at Hive stadium as well.

“It just shows how loyal our supporters have been to us. Our goal over this last block of four games is that we win all four. We've got three out of three and we're on an upward curve.

“As we know, we haven't won three games in a row for two years. So making four in a row will be pretty special and a good farewell to some of the players that have served the club well over the years.”

Magnus Bradbury is back in the Edinburgh starting XV for the visit of Connacht having taken his place amongst the replacements last week following his return from injury. The skipper replaces Tom Currie at number 8 who drops to the bench.

Marshall Sykes comes into the second row with Grant Gilchrist ruled out with a finger injury. Tom Dodd slots in at blindside flanker, with Glen Young moving into the second row alongside Sykes, while Piers O'Conor completes the changes in place of Mosese Tuipulotu at outside centre.

“Happy Duhan” van der Merwe back and scoring tries for Edinburgh

Duhan van der Merwe retains his place on the wing having scored twice against Dragons last time out. “Duhan showed us signs of what he can do last week,” added Everitt.

“Obviously when you haven't played for a long period of time, there are nerves. You don't know where you're at from a game time point of view. Training is very different to playing a match away against Dragons.

“So he would have taken a lot of confidence out of what he managed to achieve with ball in hand. He scored two great tries. He spoke during the week about how confident he's feeling going into this game.

“So we're just happy to have happy Duhan back. He does bring energy to the team. The guys get a lot of confidence out of his good performances.”

Although Edinburgh can’t reach the play-offs, that’s still very much achievable for Connacht who currently sit one place outside the top eight and just one point behind Ulster and Cardiff, who host top two Glasgow Warriors and Stormers respectively.

However, Everitt isn’t worried about his side matching the intensity of their visitors, adding: “ We want to play for our fans and make them proud. They've been loyal through tough times with us this year.

“I want the team to show that we're grateful for their support. We know how motivated they're going to be, so we need to match or overcome what they're bringing from an emotional point of view.”

Edinburgh starting XV play Connacht: 15 Harry Paterson, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Findlay Thomson, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Hector Patterson. 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Ewan Ashman, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 4 Marshall Sykes, 5 Glen Young, 6 Tom Dodd, 7 Freddy Douglas, 8 Magnus Bradbury. Replacements: 16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Euan McVie, 21 Tom Currie, 22 Charlie Shiel, 23 Jack Brown.

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