Edinburgh boss dimisses Springboks threat posed by his ex-side

Sean Everitt has told in-form Edinburgh they should have no fear of a Sharks side loaded with Springboks as they bid to complete a quickfire South African hat-trick in Friday’s United Rugby Championship showdown at Hive Stadium.

Edinburgh have defeated the Lions and the Bulls already this month to move into the semi-finals of the EPCR Challenge Cup.

Head coach Everitt – whose side have won four of their last five in all competitions – believes Edinburgh are in perfect fettle for their first meeting with the Sharks since losing 36-30 in Durban in the Challenge Cup quarter-final a year ago.

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“Obviously we take a lot of confidence and momentum into the game,” Everitt said. “We know the Sharks present similar challenges to what the Bulls do. The Bulls brought on five Springboks in the second half and it made a difference to their performance.

“The Sharks will be no different. They’ll start with probably a dozen Springboks in their ranks. But at the same time, we’ve done well against the Sharks when we were away in the quarter-final last year in the EPCR, so we also take confidence out of that performance when there were a lot of the Springboks playing as well.

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“We’ve also got our own group of internationals and we’re playing at home, so we’re relishing this opportunity.

“Our rugby performances have improved and with that you obviously get results. If you look at the last game we lost against Treviso, the guys put in a good performance apart from a lapse of concentration when we lost the line-out (in the closing moments of a 21-18 defeat).

“I’m pleased with the performance that the guys have been putting in.”

Edinburgh are eighth in the URC and one of several clubs scrambling to secure their spot in the play-offs.

Everitt, who has rested Scotland wing Darcy Graham in one of five changes to his starting XV, said it is “extremely important” that his team maintain their form in the coming weeks.

“We’ve got some tough games on the road as well coming up, so it is challenging,” he said. “The league is really tight, so every point matters at this stage.”