Week two and it already feels like must-win for Edinburgh as 'energy bunny' returns

Last weekend’s defeat by Zebre was a desperately disappointing start to the new campaign and, with a tricky away fixture against Munster to follow in round three, Sean Everitt’s side really need a victory at a wind-lashed Hive on Friday.

Storm clouds are gathering above Edinburgh and it’s an apt metaphor for where the club finds itself. The feelgood factor generated by the strong finish to last season all but dissipated in Parma as Martin Roger Farias’ late, late penalty sailed between the posts and condemned the visitors to a three-point loss.

It’s the third time in a row they’ve failed to beat the team with the worst record in the URC and is a glaring example of Edinburgh’s Jekyll and Hyde nature. This is the team that saw off South African heavyweights the Lions and the Bulls on consecutive weekends last season on a run to the Challenge Cup semi-finals but came unstuck against the side which has finished bottom, bottom, bottom and second bottom.

Coach sends for the cavalry

Everitt spoke on Friday of his frustration at individual errors costing his side. He bemoaned “soft defensive moments”, citing Simone Gesi’s try where the Zebre winger ran through unchecked from the inside of a maul. “That's something that we wouldn't normally get wrong,” he said. There was also the scrum penalty at the end of the game which led to Farias’ decisive kick.

“We have to improve our defence,” said Everitt. “We allowed Zebre a couple of easy tries due to lack of concentration through certain individuals, it wasn't through a lack of understanding of the system, and we can't allow those types of errors when we're away from home particularly.”

The coach’s response has been to send for the cavalry. Darcy Graham, Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman and Hamish Watson have all been brought into the starting line-up and this is about the strongest team Edinburgh could have fielded. There are five Lions in the XV.

A storm is brewing

Will it be enough? It should be. Storm Amy is going to make it tough for both sides to do anything too intricate but Edinburgh are used to these conditions, used to how they impact on their compact little ground which offers little protection from the elements. Everitt expects his team to adapt accordingly in a match that will now kick off early, at 7pm, to avoid the worst of the storm.

“You never can control the weather so you make sure that when you plan for the week that there are plays that you have in your playbook that are flexible according to the conditions that you might face,” he said. “We need to be flexible in how we play and I believe that we do have an all-court game now, so there's always something that we can turn to, to try and get the result.”

Edinburgh certainly did that against Ulster in May, beating them 47-17 to clinch their place in the URC play-offs. It seems a long time ago but it’s worth looking back on the game to remind yourself what Edinburgh are capable of when they put their minds to it. They went into the match thinking a bonus-point win would be required and had four tries in the bag by the 54th minute. Magnus Bradbury was outstanding that night and Edinburgh will again look to him for leadership on Friday.

Energy bunny’s return

He scored two tries but Graham went one better, collecting a hat-trick and also a yellow card on what was an eventful evening for the little winger. So often a talisman, Graham’s return can be a difference-maker if Edinburgh can find a way to get him involved. Conditions will make that more difficult and there are unlikely to be many cross-kicks attempted amid the gales but Graham’s broken-field running can cause problems to any team.

Everitt views him as “world class” and thinks his effervescence will give everyone a lift.

“Darcy is the energy bunny and what he displays on the field is what he displays at training,” said the coach.

“Players take confidence from having a guy like that around - they've got a lot of respect for him and at the same time, he does lead in his own way on the field and that's through his performances.”

Graham will pep up the attack but defence is Everitt’s main concern. The chief offenders have been spoken to and he believes the message has got through.

“I think from a defensive point of view, it's black and white,” he said. “It's probably like doing mathematics. You either get the answer right or wrong and there's a way that you have to do it to get to the answer. The guys understand and we certainly did get through to them.”

For Everitt's sake you would hope so.

Edinburgh v Ulster teams

(URC round 2, Hive Stadium, Friday, 7pm)

Edinburgh: Wes Goosen; Darcy Graham, Piers O’Conor, James Lang, Duhan van der Merwe; Ben Healy, Ben Vellacott; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D’arcy Rae, Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist, Liam McConnell, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury (capt). Replacements: Paddy Harrison, James Whitcombe, Angus Williams, Sam Skinner, Freddy Douglas, Charlie Shiel, Findlay Thomson, Harry Paterson.

Ulster: Stewart Moore; Werner Kok, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Zac Ward; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Callum Reid, Tom Stewart, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson (capt), Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu, Sean Reffell, Nick Timoney. Replacements: Rob Herring, Sam Crean, Scott Wilson, David McCann, Juarno Augustus, Conor McKee, Jake Flannery, Jude Postlethwaite.

Referee: Chris Allison (SARU).