Everitt tries to be positive over injury
Boffelli to miss game against Italians but coach hopes he will return next week
SEAN EVERITT has looked to ease any fears over Emiliano Boffelli’s injury and hopes he can return in time to face Munster next week. The Argentine has been hampered with a back problem over recent months and it flared up again following the win over Cardiff. His spasms meant Everitt made the decision to leave him out of today’s game, but he is confident he will return soon.
The absence of Boffelli means Matt Currie switches to the wing from his usual position in the centre, with Mark Bennett coming into the side as one of two changes. The other sees Bill Mata return to the starting XV having been a replacement in Cardiff. He leaves the club to join Bristol Bears in the summer but he will be an important player over the next few games as Edinburgh try to secure a top-eight finish and a place in the play-offs.
Speaking about Boffelli’s injury, Everitt said: “Unfortunately he’s gone a little bit backwards this week with regards to that. He played in the Cardiff game and did really well, then he came off that game a few days later and the back started playing up again. So I think it’s important for us to rest him this week so he can make a full recovery to be ready for selection next week.
“The risk in him playing this week would be that he might not be able to take the field against Munster – and for that matter against Benetton. So we’ll give him as much time as we can to get him back to full recovery, especially with the schedule that we have.”
Currie moving to the wing is needed with Harry Paterson, Darcy Graham and Jake Henry also among those injured. Paterson has appeared to be close to a return for a number of weeks with Everitt often mentioning that he is near but he picked up a niggle in training on Monday and the coach decided it would be best to leave him on the sidelines, with Currie a capable option.
“The young man [Paterson] has had incredibly bad luck over this season, and maybe over the last two years, in fact,” Everitt said. “He did enough in the opportunities he had in September to work his way into the Six Nations group and make his debut, but then picked up a stress fracture training with Scotland, then he had just got over that when he picked up a small niggle on Monday which was his comeback week. He would have been in the mix this week for selection and once again it is precautionary, especially with what lies ahead and where we are with our back three. Being a short week, we didn’t want to wait too long, we needed to get on and prepare for the game on Friday night, so hopefully with the injury Harry has he will recover from it very quickly.
“Matt Currie has done really well for us. He’s probably one of our paciest centres as well. In the last game that he played on the wing, against the Sharks in Durban, we thought that he performed really well.
So it was an easy one for us to just move him to the wing and keep James Lang and Mark Bennett together like we did early on in the season.”
The injury situation means there are not many changes to the squad as a whole with both players who have been brought into the starting XV being on the bench last time out.
It is the usual front row of Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman and WP Neil with Sam Skinner and Grant Gilchrist in front of them in the engine room. Mata is the only change among the forwards with Jamie Ritchie and Hamish Watson starting on the flanks.
Ben Healy and Ali Price keep their spots at fly-half and scrum-half, while Bennett comes into the centre to join James Lang. Duhan van der Merwe and Wes Goosen complete the team alongside Currie, but Everitt admits he is worried about the injury situation.
“Yes, I am. That’s why I say it is important to get these guys back. We’re not taking Zebre lightly, like we didn’t take going down to the Sharks with Matt Currie on the wing lightly, so we’ve got to play the best available players for us. There is no use playing players who are 80 per cent, we need 100 per cent effort from all players.
“Injuries sometimes are out of your control, you’ve got to deal with what you’ve got, and I think the backs we have at the moment have coped incredibly well and been resilient in fitting in wherever they’ve been needed to fit in.”
Edinburgh fly-half Charlie Savala has made his season-long loan to Northampton Saints permanent.
He made 33 appearances in a threeyear spell at Edinburgh having joined the club from Australian Rugby League side Sydney Roosters in October 2020.
However, his opportunities were limited after Ben Healy arrived in the capital last summer.
Savala – who qualifies for both Scotland and England – joined Saints in November and will now make the switch permanent.