Everitt’s men will peak in time for play-offs
EDINBURGH took a bit of a sore one against the Stormers last weekend but I reckon they’re still in good shape to make the URC play-offs this year.
My old rivals have had a bit of an up and down time of it over the last few seasons, first under the hard taskmaster Richard Cockerill and then Mike Blair, who was at the opposite end of the scale when it came to the players’ needs but struggled a bit under the weight of that job.
Now they seem to have got the perfect happy medium with Sean Everitt, who’s a vastly experienced coach but also seems to be popular with the squad, which always helps to keep things positive.
The aim after last year’s disappointment would have been to reach the play-offs and they look well placed to finish in the top eight, with an outside shot at the top four. It’s so tight in that section of the table and every point could be vital during the run-in.
Edinburgh are midway through their two-week trip to South Africa and looking to bounce back against the Sharks on Saturday. There was no shame in losing to the Stormers at the weekend given how strong they are at home, although Everitt was right not to be happy with his team’s performance and not at least picking up a bonus point. Two of Edinburgh’s three tries were gifts from the Stormers, so the margin of defeat could have been even higher still. The Sharks have got a few more of their Springboks back and beat Ulster at the weekend but Edinburgh should be looking to come out on top on Saturday. They won in Durban two years ago and will have a lot of the Scotland guys available, including Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman and Jamie Ritchie. They could all make a big difference. The Sharks have won only twice this season and are out of the running for the play-offs but they’ve got a big Challenge Cup tie coming up against Zebre and will be keen to build up a head of steam for that one by winning again this weekend. Edinburgh take on Bayonne in that same competition — and would be going back to play the Sharks in the quarter-finals if they both win — and then have a fairly favourable URC run-in, with all but one of their matches against teams in the bottom half of the table. It is in their grasp to make the top eight and I think that would represent a decent return in Everitt’s first season in charge. He will have learned a lot about his players on and off the pitch during this trip to Cape Town and Durban. I get that there’s a lot of travelling and it’s stiflingly hot at times but I used to love the South African series when I was with Glasgow.
When you’re at home, the guys all have families and other commitments and you don’t get to spend much time with each other, whereas when you’re in the same hotels for a fortnight, that’s when you really get to know each other. Plus, to get away from the usual horrible weather here to train in the sunshine for two weeks was never a hardship!
I was a big fan of the introduction of the South African teams just for something different. You look at a lot of Premiership teams down south and the furthest they get to go is a bus trip to Newcastle. So, Edinburgh will feel they’ve gained something from this trip whether they end up taking points on Saturday or not.