Edinburgh issue tentative update on Van der Merwe and Graham

Scotland wings Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe will both miss Edinburgh’s final URC fixture against Cardiff on Saturday before the November Tests get under way.

Graham aggravated an old MCL knee issue in last week’s 43-0 win over Benetton and is being carefully managed to not risk his participation in the Quilter Nations Series Scotland begin on 1 November against USA, with New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga also due at Murrayfield next month.

Van der Merwe was forced off early in the second half against Benetton with a bruised heel but Edinburgh had included the giant wing in their original team line-up against Cardiff.

But he failed a fitness test on Thursday and will not travel with the squad to the Welsh capital.

“Duhan’s got a bruise on his heel, which he’s not comfortable with,” explained Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt. “He’s just not comfortable running with it, so we don’t want to risk him playing this weekend with what he’s got ahead of him in November. But he’s available for November.”

Edinburgh are also taking a cautious approach with Graham, who took a bang on his knee in the 25th minute against Benetton and required treatment on three occasions, only to shrug off the knock and ultimately play the full 80 minutes, scoring two tries.

But in the process, it appears he has aggravated an old injury. Graham tore his medial collateral ligament in December 2022 and had a one-inch screw inserted into his knee as part of an operation to create a “fake MCL”.

He missed the 2023 Six Nations and although he returned in time for the World Cup later that year, he revealed in December 2023 he had been in “constant pain” until – while recuperating from a hip injury after the tournament – he had the screw removed from his right knee.

“He’s had an old MCL repair and he’s just aggravated that,” Everitt revealed. “Obviously he’s not comfortable this week.

“We don’t want to risk him now with the games that they have in November. Those are really important for Scotland. On top of that, it’s a long season and we’ve got 11 weeks in a row to contend with heading into January.

“So I’d rather him be fit, especially with what he’s gone through as well. But he will be available in November.”

It may be that Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend opts to give other wings such as Glasgow duo Kyle Steyn and Kyle Rowe a start next week against the USA anyway, with Graham and Van der Merwe held back for the All Blacks fixture the following Saturday.

In their absence on Saturday, Ross McCann and Lewis Wells – a strapping 22-year-old handed just his third senior start – will feature on the wings against Cardiff.

“He’s a massive player – a big, well-built, strong man and he adds speed to that as well,” Everitt said of Wells. “He’s improved in his high-ball regain and he’s shown that in the pre-season warm-up games, so I’m very happy to give him a start.”

Elsewhere, Cammy Scott has come through HIA return-to-play protocols to make a second successive start at fly-half, with Charlie Shiel also retained at scrum-half after an impressive outing together against Benetton.

Lock Marshall Sykes – one of 13 Edinburgh players named in Scotland’s autumn Test squad – returns in the second row while flanker Luke Crosbie makes his comeback from a hamstring injury on the bench.

Lock Callum Hunter-Hill is also poised for his second debut for the club, after returning north this summer after five years with Saracens and a season at Northampton, while Scotland sevens player Matt Davidson is also included in the 23 for the first time.

Edinburgh: 15. Wes Goosen; 14. Ross McCann, 13. Piers O’Conor, 12. James Lang, 11. Lewis Wells; 10. Cammy Scott, 9. Charlie Shiel; 1. Pierre Schoeman, 2. Ewan Ashman, 3. D’arcy Rae; 4. Marshall Sykes, 5. Grant Gilchrist; 6. Liam McConnell, 7. Dylan Richardson, 8. Magnus Bradbury (captain).

Replacements: 16. Paddy Harrison, 17. Boan Venter, 18. Paul Hill, 19. Callum Hunter-Hill, 20. Luke Crosbie, 21. Ben Vellacott, 22. Ross Thompson, 23. Matt Davidson.