Edinburgh measuring themselves against 'best in England'

Yahoo

02-05-2025

Sean Everitt acknowledged the size of Edinburgh's task against Bath this weekend, as they try and beat "the best in England" to seal a place in the Challenge Cup final.
The capital club have not made it to a European final for 10 years, since they lost to Gloucester in 2015, and now need to beat the side who are comfortably top of the Premiership, led by Finn Russell.
"It's a massive task for us, we know Bath are the form team in the Premiership by some way, they've put a lot of good teams to bed," head coach Everitt said.
"At the same time, we've got experienced players within our group, international players, so we're not daunted by the task ahead of us. It's going to be a great challenge to measure ourselves with the best in England."
Edinburgh will be buoyed by the fact it's a home semi-final, something they achieved by finishing top of their pool in the group stages.
"Every time we play at the Hive, we tend to feed off the energy of the crowd," Everitt added. "We've also got to give them something to cheer.
"The Sharks game was an example of how they get behind the team. Our team gets very motivated from the support they get. The Hive will be buzzing."
A further boost has been provided by the return of Jamie Ritchie, who some are tipping for a place on the British & Irish Lions tour with the squad announced next week.
"He went through some adversity post-World Cup, but it shows the character of the person, the personality of him - he's a fighter," Everitt said. "He got over that disappointment and put in really good performances in the URC.
"He was the turnover king in the URC last year and he's on a similar route this year. He's extended that form into international rugby as well. It's brilliant for him and we're very proud of what he's achieved."