Latest news with #SeanEveritt
Scotsman
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
All change at Edinburgh Rugby as 164-cap quartet play final game
Everitt confident new signings can help club continue progressing Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Sean Everitt is confident the influx of new players at Edinburgh can help them build on the progress they made over the course of a season which saw them qualify for the United Rugby Championship play-offs and reach the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup. The campaign came to an end in South Africa on Saturday with a 42-33 defeat by the Bulls in the quarter-finals of the URC. It was the first time since 2022 that Edinburgh had made it as far in the competition and although they started and finished strongly in tough conditions at Loftus Versfeld they were undone by a decisive spell either side of half-time which saw them concede 31 unanswered points. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It was the final Edinburgh game for a handful of senior players, with Jamie Ritchie, Mark Bennett, Ali Price and Javan Sebastian all bowing out. The quartet has amassed 164 Scotland caps and Edinburgh are losing a lot of experience. In addition, fellow internationals Dave Cherry, Emiliano Boffelli, Matt Scott and Jamie Hodgson are also leaving along with Robin Hislop, Jake Henry, Nathan Sweeney and Jack Hocking. Magnus Bradbury of Edinburgh is tackled by the Bulls' Sebastian de Klerk during the URC quarter-final at Loftus Versfeld. | Getty Images In their place comes a number of new faces, only one of whom is a full international. Scotland hooker Dylan Richardson has signed from the Sharks, and Scottish-qualified props Rhys Litterick, from Cardiff, and James Whitcombe, from Leicester Tigers, are also joining. In addition, wingers Malelili Satala and Finlay Doyle are coming from Leicester and Loughborough University, respectively, along with utility back Piers O'Conor from Connacht, centre Charlie McCaig from Exeter Chiefs and loosehead Ben White from Melrose. It is a big turnover of personnel but Everitt believes they can bed in quickly. 'I'm very confident,' said the Edinburgh coach. 'Obviously, there's a lot of work to do with the youngsters that we have in the group. There's quite a long way between now and the first game and a lot of hard work. What we mustn't do is forget the amount of work that we've put in now and the progress that we've made so that we can hit the ground running in round one against Zebre away from home, which is going to be a tricky fixture. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We are building from within our structure, so it's not as though we're going to lack cohesion. If anything, it's going to bring Edinburgh Rugby a lot of energy, having new faces around and some of the new players that we're bringing in have played top-level rugby in the English Premiership. Whitcombe has played there and Rhys Litterick is playing for Cardiff. Cardiff just missed out on the play-offs and then Piers O'Conor has done really well and played every game except one, I think, for Connacht. That will bring something different to the group, so it's actually exciting times for us.' Reflecting on the season, Everitt felt his squad grew over the course of a campaign which had several peaks and troughs but ended with Edinburgh producing some of their best rugby to beat South African sides the Lions and Bulls in the Challenge Cup and then securing the back-to-back bonus-point wins over Connacht and Ulster they needed to make the URC play-offs. The low points were a 55-21 drubbing by the Lions in Johannesburg and their failure to win either of the games with Zebre. Honours were even with Glasgow at one win apiece although Franco Smith's side retained the 1872 Cup on aggregate. Jamie Ritchie, right, in his final game for Edinburgh, sprints to close down David Kriel of the Bulls in the URC quarter-final. | Getty Images 'It's been a challenging season,' said Everitt. 'We had a tough start with Leinster at home at full strength and getting on the plane the next day and coming to South Africa for two games. And then we pulled it together quite nicely up until the international break in November. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We staggered along. We were good but we were inconsistent in our performance as well and didn't always get the results. But if you look at what the guys have achieved to get where they were and then to get into this position of the quarter-final, their efforts have to be commended. 'It's not easy to go into the last two rounds of competition needing 10 points to qualify. So, the fight that this team shows is really encouraging. "We've got a good environment. The players are proud of playing for Edinburgh. We saw that on Saturday. I know we fell short but those are the positives we can take out. There's a lot of growth that has taken place over the season. So, you can't look at this game in isolation. 'And we're certainly excited about what we can bring next year.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scorers: Bulls: Tries: Hanekom, Kriel, Vorster, Moodie, Johannes, Nortje. Cons: Johannes 3. Pens: Johannes 2. Edinburgh: Tries: Goosen 2, Thompson 2, Ashman. Cons: Thompson 4. Yellow cards: De Klerk (Bulls, 3min), JF Van Heerden (Bulls, 59min), Thompson (Edinburgh, 60min). Bulls: W le Roux; C Moodie (D Williams 14-23, 50-64), D Kriel, H Vorster (S Gans 64), S De Klerk; K Johannes, E Papier (Z Burger 62); J-H Wessels (S Matanzima 64), J Grobbelaar (A van der Merwe 48), W Louw (M Smith 64), C Wiese (J Kirsten 69), JF Van Heerden, M Coetzee (M Van Staden 48), R Nortje, C Hanekom (M van Staden 34-42). Edinburgh: W Goosen; D Graham (M Bennett 5-14), M Currie, J Lang (Bennett 52), H Paterson; R Thompson (B Healy 71), A Price; P Schoeman (B Venter 50), E Ashman (P Harrison 59), D Rae (J Sebastian 20-30, 50), M Sykes, S Skinner, J Ritchie (B Muncaster 52), H Watson, M Bradbury (L McConnell 73). Replacement: C McAlpine.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Bulls power through to semi-finals after Edinburgh threaten to rip up play-off script in Pretoria
Pretoria Bulls 42 Edinburgh 33 RETURNING home to South Africa, Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt enjoyed some dinner on Friday night with his Bulls counterpart Jake White. The pair are close friends and fired up the grill for a Braai, a traditional South African barbecue, at White's house just hours before this quarter-final clash in the United Rugby Championship. But it was Everitt and his Edinburgh players whose goose was cooked in Pretoria as the Bulls feasted on six tries to claim their place in the semi-finals. This was not the hammering that many feared it might be for Edinburgh. On the contrary, this was very much a case of what might have been. Everitt's side led 21-8 after half an hour thanks to two tries from Ross Thompson and one from Wes Goosen. They were in the process of ripping up the script. But the surroundings at Loftus Versfeld can do strange things to visiting teams. Perhaps it was the altitude of the Highveld and the thought of scaling such heights on the field, Edinburgh suffered a collective nose bleed. They collapsed midway through the game, conceding all six tries in the space of little more than half an hour, and three in little more than 10 minutes after half-time, before finding a second wind again near the end. There was a lot to like about their performance, a lot to be proud of away from home in such a testing arena, but the reality is that their season is now over. Knockout rugby offers no second chances and no pats on the back. Having been in such a commanding position after half an hour, the reality is that Edinburgh threw this one away. 'We started the game really well,' said Everitt. 'We looked really dangerous, caused the Bulls a lot of problems, and got ourselves into a lead. 'But then there was a 12-minute blitz from the Bulls where they scored three tries early in the second half to take the game away from us a little bit. 'I am really proud of the guys in terms of how they still fought back towards the end. It's been a long, tough season but we still kept going right until the end. We've improved a lot this year and we should be proud. 'Congratulations to the Bulls. They have got a home semi-final now to look forward to and they are a very hard team to stop when they have momentum.' Playing at such altitude on the Highveld, and with baking-hot sunshine beating down as the match kicked-off, this would be a test of Edinburgh's fitness and mental fortitude as much as anything. The Bulls had finished the regular season in excellent form, with six straight victories ensuring they came into the play-offs as one of the form sides in the competition. But it was Edinburgh who made the perfect start and took the lead on five minutes, just seconds after Bulls winger Sebastian de Klerk had been sin-binned for a high shot on Darcy Graham. Harry Paterson played a key role in the build-up as Edinburgh worked the ball out wide, with Hamish Watson eventually delivering the final pass for Goosen to score in the corner. The sense of shock among the home crowd when a rampant Edinburgh scored a second try on 13 minutes to race further clear. It was a brilliant finish from Thompson, with the fly-half waltzing through a gap and showing great footwork before touching down. The Bulls made a dent on the scoreboard thanks to a penalty from fly-half Keagan Johannes, before they finally clicked into gear and scored their first try on 19 minutes. It was their talismanic No 8 Cameron Hanekom who powered over from close range. Having made his international debut last year, it wasn't hard to see why 23-year-old Hanekom is viewed as the next big thing in the Springboks' back row. Credit to Edinburgh for the way in which they kept asking questions of the Bulls. Their enterprising approach was rewarded with a third try on 29 minutes. After James Lang made a good line-break, the ball was fed to Thompson and he darted over for his second try of the afternoon. Leading 21-8 after half an hour, Edinburgh were threatening a huge shock. But the Bulls came roaring back with two tries in the space of half an hour just before half-time. Veteran full-back Willie Le Roux broke through a gap and fed the prolific centre David Kriel to score, before his midfield partner Harold Vorster went over in the corner. From Edinburgh's point of view, the defending was poor. Ali Price, in particular, should have done far better to make a tackle and get Vorster into touch as he neared the try-line. But the Bulls were profligate with their kicking and another missed conversion ensured that Edinburgh still led 21-18 as the teams went in at half-time. But it was clear that the home side now had the bit between their teeth. Perhaps starting to smell blood, the Bulls took the lead just two minutes after the break when Springbok winger Canan Moodie scored after a lovely offload from Le Roux. Edinburgh were starting to wilt in the searing heat and energy-sapping altitude, with the Bulls making it a quickfire double when Johannes broke through a gap and raced away to score his team's fifth try of the day. Trailing 32-21, Edinburgh knew they really needed to find the next score if they were to claw their way back into the game. But the Bulls put the matter beyond doubt when skipper Ruan Nortje powered over from close range on 53 minutes after a period of sustained pressure. Edinburgh finally got going again when the ball was recycled quickly from a ruck and hooker Ewan Ashman crashed over on 59 minutes, with the Bulls down to 14 men again as lock JF van Heerden was yellow-carded. But Edinburgh's momentum was halted immediately when Magnus Bradbury fumbled the restart and gifted possession back to the home side, with Thompson then sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on shortly after. Another penalty from Johannes stretched the Bulls' lead to 42-28, before Edinburgh replied again when Goosen touched down in the corner after a flowing team move from the visitors. With Thompson off the pitch, it was Mark Bennett who took aim with the conversion but the ball sailed wide of the posts. A chaotic game rather fizzled out in the final 10 minutes, with the Bulls seeing it through for the victory. Having been chewed up and spat out, Edinburgh were left to ponder a missed opportunity.
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Bulls 42-33 Edinburgh: What Everitt said
Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt told BBC Scotland: "You've got to deny entries 22. We weren't able to force enough rucks on the ball, and when they kept the ball in alive, - Keaghan Johannes' try is an example of that - they are really hard to stop. They've got a lot of pace up right. "We wanted to stop momentum and force them to play from slow ball, but it wasn't always possible. "We're disappointed in how we executed our kicking game, because they did win the aerial battle today. Some of those scraps that fall on the floor, it's a bounce of the ball, you need a little bit of luck as far as that's concerned. "It was more around the the kicking game in the middle, third of the game that probably led to their win."
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Van Der Merwe out as Ritchie starts for Edinburgh in quarter-final
Duhan van der Merwe misses out on Edinburgh's URC quarter-final against Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday as head coach Sean Everitt makes just one Van Der Merwe, who has been sidelined since March with ankle ligament damage, has resumed training and is with the squad in South Everitt said: "He's probably still a few days away from being ready to return to full match action. We're managing his return carefully to ensure he's fully prepared when he does step back onto the field."Jamie Ritchie, who will join Perpignan this summer, starts at blindside flanker as Ben Muncaster drops to the bench from the team that beat Ulster to clinch a play-off spot."We know the Bulls are always a massive physical threat, especially here at Loftus," added Everitt."To compete, and to win, we will need to be at our absolute very best. That means bringing passion and intensity, but crucially, it also demands composure and clinical discipline for the full 80 minutes."Edinburgh XV to face Bulls: Goosen, Graham, Currie, Lang, Paterson, Thompson, Price, Schoeman, Ashman, Rae, Sykes, Skinner, Ritchie, Watson, BradburyReplacements: Harrison, Venter, Sebastian, McConnell, Muncaster, McAlpine, Healy, Bennett.
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
What is play-off success for Glasgow & Edinburgh? Does Russell get a raw deal?
BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questionsJamie asked: What is success for Glasgow and Edinburgh in the play-offs? Is it crazy to think Edinburgh have a better chance at the title?Tom answered: Let's talk Glasgow first. They have to beat the Stormers at home, that's a given. On current form, I'm worried. Anything other than a victory and the season will go down as a they win, their problem then is that because they fell away to fourth they'll probably have to go to Dublin. They took the tough road to glory last season but this season looks even their injuries, I can't see them beating Leinster in Dublin. A competitive semi-final defeat would go down as a decent title defence in my book.I wouldn't say Edinburgh have a better chance. They have a really hard assignment away to Bulls on Saturday and if they win that then, on seeding, they'll be playing Sharks away in the semi-final and, again on seeding, Leinster away in the a brutal run. If they win the URC then forget the chat about Sean Everitt keeping his job, the only thing up for debate at that point will be where to put his asked: With George Turner joining Harlequins can we look forward to him being part of the Scotland set-up again? We've missed Tom answered: Totally agree Scotland have missed him. He's still the best hooker and it's good news he's back close to me, if he's still playing close to his best, he's first choice for Scotland. I hope he's making himself available come the asked: Great win for Bath in the Challenge Cup final but what has Finn Russell go to do? He got slated by the radio comms for having a poor game, this is the same commentator that criticises him for being a maverick. But when he controls a game behind a strong pack it's clearly not good enough answered: People are allowed their opinion. In my view, Finn Russell's game management is outstanding. Some have an outdated view of him as some kind of Harlem Globetrotter, but it's wildly one of the best 10s I have seen and he's more mature now than he's ever been. His performance in the Challenge Cup final was quietly authoritative. No bells and whistles, just calm and dominant. The him behind a strong pack, as he'll have in the summer with the Lions, and he'll be brilliant. He can deliver the flashes of genius, but that's only part of what he asked: If Aberdeen, against all the odds, can win the Scottish Cup for the first time in 35 years, what's holding Scotland back from a Grand Slam? It's clearly about belief within the squad and clear, concise messaging from the answered: If only it was so easy. Scotland don't win championships or Grand Slams because they have to win four or five games in a row, with some of them against physically superior haven't been good enough to do that. They haven't had the artillery up front, where most rugby games are all due respect to Aberdeen's opponents in the early rounds of the Scottish Cup, they were lower league. Then they beat nine-man Hearts in the semi-final. A Six Nations is a lot harder than that. You're playing against some of the best teams in the world. The attrition is through the roof.I think these Scotland players believe in themselves, and they're a very fine side, but they're just not as good as Ireland and France.
