URC: Benetton v Edinburgh: continuity key as Sean Everitt seeks back-to-back away wins
Yesterday at 08:17 AM
EDINBURGH head coach Sean Everitt has made just one enforced change to the starting XV he selected for his team’s impressive away win over Munster last time out, ahead of tomorrow [Saturday] afternoon’s URC round 13 clash against Benetton in Treviso, with Hamish Watson added to a re-jigged back-row having been a second minute replacement in that previous match when Luke Crosbie suffered a pectoral injury which has ended his season.
Freddy Douglasreturns from Scotland Under-20s duty to take over Watson’s place on the bench, while Jack Brown – another stand-out performer for the national age-grade team during the seven weeks – is set to make his senior debut for the club having taken over from the injured Mark Bennett as outside-back cover on the bench.
Brown carried the ball for more metres than anyone else in the Six Nations (475.4m with fellow Scot Reuben Logan in second in place on 393.1m), for a total gain of 320.4 metres.
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“Jack Brown has been on the fringes of our selection,” said Everitt. “He is a guy that has the skill-set that fits into our game model. He’s good under the high ball, he kicks the ball a long way and on top of that, he’s really good and strong in the contact, as well as having good counter-attacking skills. That’s what we need at the back. He is also well prepared and understands what we are doing.
“It’s not his first training or first week training with us. He’s been training with us for a long period of time now so he understands it and he’s a guy that can play both on the wing and at full-back. So, he certainly does help us out in that position when we do have injuries and I think he’s now a competitor in that position. And who knows, if he goes well this weekend, he’s a guy that could start next week.”
Edinburgh have been infuriatingly inconsistent in recent seasons, and Everitt recognises that a substandard performance and result this weekend after the high of their munster showing would be a gut-punch for supporters. Back-row Ben Muncaster said earlier this week that there is now a more positive mind-set within the squad as is required to back up one win with another.
“The team knows that they can win away from home. We were struggling to win and to get that win away. And sometimes it just takes one win to change the mindset of the players and the belief of the players,” he reasoned.
“So, I think that’s what we’ll take to Treviso. We also learn from the lessons last year and what cost us there [when Edinburgh were humbled 31-6 in a defeat cost them a place in the URC play-offs]. Treviso give you nothing on the rugby field. They’re the most disciplined team in the URC. They’re really structured around the kicking game. And last year we were caught out in trying to force certain things.
“It’s a different team that we’re taking this time around. We're a team that’s actually grown quite a lot over the last six weeks with confidence and with rugby ability and rugby understanding. So, yes, for us, we just know that we’re in for a hell of a challenge.
“You’ve got to reflect and look back and see when we beat Treviso at home. We’ve also got to look back, a month ago when we lost to Zebre at home and understand that the Italians are really difficult opponents now. They’ve shown that in the Six Nations. They were competitive in all the games that they played except against France, who won the Six Nations.
“Italy didn’t get it right on the day but they’re certainly up there with the best teams in the URC and Zebre are not at the bottom of the log anymore. They are just a win away from perhaps being in the top ten. Knowing where we are in the competition and what it can look like over the next two rounds is what motivates us.
“There are certain things that we measure and one of them is our work off the ball,” Everitt continued. “We take pride in what we do off the ball and it just shows you that if we can work at that high rate of expectation, then we can achieve what we want to achieve.
“I certainly believe that first 40 [against Munster], was probably one of our best performances that we’ve put in this year. But that doesn’t just happen. The players have to reflect and see what worked in that game and we’ve done that and that’s what we need to take to Treviso. They’re going to be a physical team. I expect them to play a full-strength team against us on Saturday. So, it’s a massive challenge for us and we’re certainly going to be up for it.”
Everitt added that the Scotland squad members who have been rested this week – Dave Cherry, Grant Gilchrist, Darcy Graham, Jamie Ritchie, Pierre Schoeman and Duhan van der Merwe – will come back into the selection mix next week, but stressed that their recall is not a foregone conclusion.
“We obviously haven’t looked at what sort of team we’re going to put together next week. We have to look at the performance of the current crop that are playing on Saturday first. But it’s great that there’s going to be competition in certain positions. At the same time, like I said, this competition is important and we’ll definitely pick our best team that’s available next week, barring a couple of guys that we might rotate.”
Edinburgh Rugby (versus Benetton @ Stadio Monigo in Treviso on Saturday, kick-off 3pm – live on Premier Sports): W Goosen; M Currie, J Lang, M Tuipulotu, R McCann; R Thompson, B Vellacott ©; B Venter, E Ashman, P Hill, M Sykes, S Skinner, B Muncaster, H Watson, M Bradbury. Subs: P Harrison, R Hislop, D Rae, G Young, F Douglas, A Price, C Scott, J Brown.
Unavailable: Mark Bennett (quad), Emiliano Boffellli (hamstring), Connor Boyle (knee), Luke Crosbie (pec), Tom Dodd (shoulder), Ben Healy (knee), Jamie Hodgson (tricep), Harry Paterson (foot), Matt Scott (neck), Charlie Shiel (concussion), Lewis Wells (ankle).
Rest protocol: Dave Cherry, Grant Gilchrist, Darcy Graham, Jamie Ritchie, Pierre Schoeman, Duhan van der Merwe.
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