Let’s show Toony he’s got Ritch pickings
Everitt urges Edinburgh stalwarts such as Jamie and Ali to state Calcutta case
ZEBRE V EDINBURGH TONIGHT, 7.35PM, VIAPLAY SPORTS 1 Sean EVERITT has called on his Scotland stars to give Gregor Townsend a Calcutta Cup selection headache when Edinburgh take on Zebre tonight.
National coach Townsend has kept back five Edinburgh players after the back-to-back Six Nations games against Wales and France in order to give them a break before next Saturday’s Murrayfield showdown with England.
But Everitt has still been able to name seven members of the current Scotland squad in his matchday 23 for the trip to Parma.
That’s as well as Hamish Watson, who will be making his 150th appearance for the club but is out of favour at national level.
Former Scotland skipper Jamie Ritchie – dropped by Townsend for the Les Bleus loss – captains his club.
And the 27-year-old will be joined by Ali Price, Ben Healy,
Harry Paterson, WP Nel, Javan Sebastian as well as Glen Young from the current wider Scotland squad.
Only Paterson was involved against the French six days ago and Everitt is looking for a reaction from the others.
He said: “Our players will definitely be motivated to put in their best performances.
“And they can give Gregor some headaches at the Monday morning selection meeting.
“I’m very happy with the squad we have. I didn’t expect to get so many players back from the Scottish set-up.
“There are players who have come back who haven’t played since the Scarlets game, which is four weeks.
“It’s a good opportunity for them to get some game time to put themselves in contention for selection so if Gregor needs them, they are ready to go.
“There’s a good opportunity for Scotland to beat England again. The reason I say again is because they seem to be doing it regularly these days.”
Everitt’s starting line-up boasts 12 internationals in all, including Watson, who becomes just the 11th player to reach the 150 landmark for the club.
The South African added: “It’s a great achievement from a world-class player.
“Hamish has been a great example to the younger guys coming through in the way he trains, his professionalism on and off the field, and from his performances on the field as well.
“We’re very privileged to have Hamish playing his 150th this weekend.
“He is highly motivated, he’s a competitor, so he’ll still be competing for a place in the Scottish side.
“Just knowing the nature of Hamish, we can expect a really big performance from him.” Edinburgh are sixth in the URC, a couple of points inside the play-off places.
A loss could see them drop out of the top eight but Everitt knows a win would keep them on course for a top-four finish and a home quarter-final.
He said: “It’s a massively important game. To keep our destiny in our own hands, it’s vital for us to get a win.
“We don’t want to slip up on an opportunity to build a gap between the top four and fifth to eighth.
“If everything goes our way this weekend and we get five points, we could go into the top four. We know how important it is to get a victory.”
EDINBURGH TEAM
Boffelli, Paterson, Currie, Lang, Dean, Healy, Price, Venter, Cherry, Nel, Sykes, Young, Ritchie (captain), Watson, Mata. Replacements: Harrison, Bruin, Sebastian, Dodd, Boyle, Vellacott, Bennett, Sweeney.