Does seventh place keep Everitt safe? Is rising star Stephen the real deal?
BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions Craig asked: Is Sean Everitt the coach to take Edinburgh forward. I'm still very much in the no camp.Tom answered: It's a harder question to answer now than it might have been a few months ago. Edinburgh made the semi-final of Europe and are now in the quarter-final of the URC, albeit having made very hard work of it.On the face of it, that's okay. If they were to go to Pretoria and win then that's a landmark victory. I don't rule it out. Edinburgh have a lot more steel to them nowadays and their games with the Bulls tend to be close.I don't think he's going anywhere in that scenario. I doubt he's going anywhere even if they lose, to be honest.Everybody will have their own view on this but I think he deserves another season, just to see if the more resilient Edinburgh we're seeing now can start next term the way they're finishing this one.Alistair asked: Do we chalk down Edinburgh's seventh place in the URC as a disappointment or what we should reasonably expect?Tom answered: It's disappointing they came so close to exiting the competition, that's for sure.Seventh is too hairy for a club with Edinburgh's potential. I don't think it's too much to expect them to be a lot closer to fourth (and a home quarter-final) than eighth.Hopey asked: Are there any young players that might make it on to the summer tour? I take it as given that Freddie Douglas travels.Tom answered: Yeah, plenty. Freddy Douglas definitely travels. I'd be taking a serious look at Seb Stephen, Mackenzie Duncan, Jare Oguntibeju, Gregor Hiddleston, Alex Samuel, Duncan Munn, Patrick Harrison, Harry Paterson, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty and others. This is the tour for it - part experience, part development.Ethan asked: What a debut for Seb Stephen, going to the Aviva holding his own against a current and former Lion! Could Stephen have played himself into the matchday 23 for Glasgow's quarter-final?Tom answered: I suspect Franco Smith will go with his experienced hookers, but I might be wrong.Stephen's outstanding performance against the best team in the league will give him plenty to think about, though. He nailed his throws and had a real physicality and intensity to him.I was kinda gobsmacked, to be honest. He was up against Dan Sheehan, arguably the best hooker in the world. He was throwing against RG Snyman and James Ryan in the Leinster lineout - a World Cup winner and a 2025 Lion. For a 19-year-old, it was as good a debut as I've seen.
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