Everitt: “The guys are excited to be back In the Champions Cup.”

Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt is relishing the challenge as his side prepares to kick off their European campaign this Sunday, hosting French giants RC Toulon at Hive Stadium.

The capital club returns to the elite Investec Champions Cup, and Everitt sees the opening round fixture as a crucial measuring stick for his squad.

“Yes, it is [an exciting weekend],” he said. “I think the guys are excited to be back in the Champions Cup. One of the biggest competitions in the world. Playing against the best opposition in the Top 14.

“It’s great to be able to measure yourself against the French competition. At the same time, for us, it’s a good benchmark to see where we are and how important this win will be if we want to make the last 16 in the competition.”

Toulon, three-time European champions, pose a formidable test, despite recent struggles on the road. Everitt acknowledges their quality and the need for Edinburgh to be at their absolute best.

“It could be [an opportunity],” the coach said when asked about Toulon’s indifferent away form. “It depends on what they’re sending. They played Montauban on the weekend… I don’t know what team they’ll send to us. There’s a seven-day turnaround. They only play the following Sunday as well. So it’s a little bit different for them. But at the end of the day, we know the squad that they carry. We’ll have to be on top of our game to win it.”

When assessing the primary dangers from the French side, Everitt highlighted their forward power and key individuals in the backline.

“Well, their pack is massive. Melvyn Jaminet is a kingpin for them. He’s good under the high ball and got a good kicking game. But one-versus-one, they are a dangerous team.

“They like to keep the ball moving. They’re big on the continuity to be able to pick off individuals. So it’s going to be a good day defensively for us, but we need to play at speed at home.”

For team news, Edinburgh are boosted by the return of key Scotland internationals for this European opener, though they face disruption in the back row.

Everitt confirmed that winger Darcy Graham and hooker Ewan Ashman are both available for selection this weekend.

“We’re not resting this weekend. We want to try and pick the best team that’s available to us on Sunday,” he stated. Everitt added that the team selection was “pencilled in” before last week’s fixture but was finalised after assessing player form and fitness.

“We obviously wanted to see how some of the guys came through on the weekend, from a form point of view, because we’re trying to pick the best team that we have available to us. So there will be a couple of changes this weekend.”

Unfortunately, young back-row forward Tom Currie will be sidelined for a few weeks due to a knee injury picked up against Ospreys, while fellow back-rower Ben Muncaster also tweaked his MCL but is expected to be available next week.

Everitt expressed sympathy for both players. “Ben hasn’t had much luck. Likewise Tom, he hurt his knee in the 18th minute of the game and he tried to push through.

“Obviously after half time I took him off. He just couldn’t do it anymore. It’s a pity for him, a guy that hasn’t had much starts in the number 8 jersey and making his mark. I thought he had done quite well up until then.”