Press Pass: Everitt on Ospreys

• 27 Feb 2024
• Previews

Get the latest from Head Coach Sean Everitt ahead of Friday night's crucial BKT United Rugby Championship clash against Ospreys at Hive Stadium with this week's Press Pass.

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On which Scotland players are back in training

“I’ll go in position order. We’ve got WP [Nel] and Javan [Sebastian] back with us, Sam Skinner and Glen Young, Ali Price, Ben Healy and Harry Paterson. Those are the guys who are back with us this week alongside Hamish Watson.

“It certainly does help us, especially in the lock department where both last week and in the previous game we had two out.

“So we’re getting experience back there – Sam Skinner is a seasoned campaigner, played a lot of Test matches, so it’s great to get him back for a game which is important to us here at home.

“And it’s always good to get Ben Healy back, who played well in the previous game.”

On Duhan’s hat-trick against England

“We were very happy with Duhan. Obviously the club is very proud of the guys who play for Scotland, especially at home against England, and for him to get a hat-trick – for us it was really pleasing and we’re delighted for him.

“He’s done well for our club, so I think it’s deserved. He’s scored a lot of tries for us as well, and every time he has worn the Edinburgh jersey he’s played with the same passion as he has for Scotland.

“So I’m just pleased for him. Last year in the Six Nations he got man of the match against England as well, so well done to him.”

On Darcy Graham

“We’ve been waiting for him to see the surgeon and get an opinion from the orthopaedics.

“He hasn’t had the opportunity to see the guy yet and he’ll see him this week. He [the surgeon] has been away doing business in France.

“We’d like to see him in the latter part of the season, but from what I can gather it will be a long-term injury.”

On not picking up bonus-points 

“For us it’s something we’re working on. We’re not happy with our completion of line breaks and tackle breaks that we’ve had in the competition.

“We’re in the top three for line breaks so obviously there’s a completion issue. It’s just about being more patient with the ball in hand, especially when we get into the area about 10m out we’ve got to be more clinical there.

“It’s something we got right against Scarlets, but let it slip against Zebre because we had opportunities there. Bonus points are costing us at the moment – if you look at the number of wins all teams have won similar – it’s the bonus points that are the difference.

“This game against Ospreys is also about us denying them a bonus point because they are on our heels. If we can get five [points] and deny them we’ll go six clear of them which is one less [team] to worry about in the short-term.

“It’s about being over-exuberant and not being patient in that area of the field. Most of the ball you’re getting in that area of the field is slow ball and if you’re trying to rush things you can end up knocking it on, etc, so it’s an individual error.

“In saying that, when you get the number of line breaks that you do, the person that has got through becomes isolated, then the breakdown becomes isolated. There’s a lot of reasons for it but it’s certainly something we’ve worked on.

WP’s neck

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised [he wasn’t picked for England match] because he wasn’t in the mix for the first game.

“He has been struggling with his neck and he might have had a flare-up during the week last week.

“We’re a bit wary of his neck because it does flare up from time-to-time, but if he does get through this week he’ll definitely be up for selection.”