Edinburgh Rugby must take home opportunity ahead of gruelling double header as club celebrates centurion

After ten rounds of URC fixtures, Edinburgh languish 13th in the table - seventh points adrift of the top eight with eight games left of the regulation campaign.

Everitt remains optimistic on his team’s chances but, with a two-match trip to South Africa coming up next month against Lions and Stormers, he acknowledged they need to make the most of their home matches in particular - starting against the Welsh outfit at Hive Stadium.

“We are confident because the destiny is in our hands,” Everitt said. “Every point that you can muster between now and the end of the season is of the utmost importance. Your home games become vital to get a result. We’re going to have to show the same fight as we did at the end of last season to be able to come through.

“We’re very proud of our stadium and the performances that we’ve put in at home. We’ve lost one game to the Bulls this year at home and we’ve got an opportunity at home, where we play really well, to get points out of this fixture.

“We know that we’ve got the South African trip and that the club itself hasn’t done well in that over the last four years. We’d like to turn that around but our focus is on this week and we’ve got to build from week to week from now into that tour.”

Some important players return

Edinburgh welcome back Mosese Tuipulotu, Dylan Richardson and Marshall Sykes after injury, while forwards D’Arcy Rae and Magnus Bradbury have been released from the Scotland camp to be included in the starting XV.

South African prop Boan Venter will make his 100th appearance for the club and Everitt paid tribute to the Springbok internationalist. He becomes Edinburgh Rugby’s 46th centurion and only the seventh prop to reach the milestone in club history, following in the footsteps of Allan Jacobsen, Craig Smith, Geoff Cross, Alasdair Dickinson, WP Nel and Pierre Schoeman.

“It’s a proud moment for Boan and his family,” said Everitt on Venter, who will leave at the end of the season to join the Lions in his homeland. “Reaching 100 appearances for this club is a massive achievement that speaks volumes about his character and his commitment to the jersey over the years.

"Having key players like Mosese, Dylan and Marshall back from injury provides a timely boost, and there is always a special energy when we return home."

However, senior internationals like Darcy Graham, Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman and Grant Gilchrist, as well as teenage back-rower Freddy Douglas, remain with Gregor Townsend’s squad in preparation for next weekend’s Guinness Six Nations showdown with France.

The match against Scarlets will celebrate the URC ‘Origin Round,’ with Edinburgh players wearing their grassroots club socks in a league-wide tribute to the local teams that developed the current generation of professionals.

Everitt added: He added: “‘Origin Round’ adds another meaningful layer to the occasion. Seeing the players represent their home clubs by wearing their grassroots socks is a fantastic tribute to the communities that first shaped them as players."