I watched Edinburgh’s URC win at Zebre - why system will get even better and ‘no fear’ against Toulon

Head coach Sean Everitt admitted after the match that his side weren’t at their - best but insisted they must enjoy their victories regardless. Especially when bonus point wins have been so scarce at the Sergio Lanfranchi Stadium in recent years.

Edinburgh sit top of the league table ahead of the first break of the new campaign as European action gets set to take centre stage. Ahead of their EPCR Challenge Cup clash with Toulon on Friday, here are four talking points from the capital club’s win at Zebre:

1 - Edinburgh system will improve as players return

Perhaps one of the most pleasing things about this fantastic start to the new season is that Edinburgh have achieved it while also having a lengthy list of unavailable first team players. Ewan Ashman and Marshall Sykes made their returns in Parma but so many key men are still missing including Grant Gilchrist, Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe.

The win over Zebre was a bit of a strange one as the hosts had their best spell of the game between the 60th and 70th minute. Harri Morris was in the sin bin so it’s understandable that they made the most of the man advantage, but with Edinburgh’s fast-paced attac,k it would normally be the time where you’d really expect them to have a team on the back foot.

As that injury list gets smaller and more players become available, it will strengthen the depth in the squad to the point where they can have players on the bench capable of making even more of an impact. It’s exciting to think just how much better this can get, especially as the players start to gel and with exciting talents Louie Chapman and Riley Higgins still to arrive this year.

2 - Bradbury stands out again

Magnus Bradbury was robbed of the Player of the Match award in their win over the Stormers but wasn’t going to be denied this week. The back rower put in another colossal shift with big carries and even bigger hits to keep the momentum in his side’s favour.

It has been said a few times now but he has more than earned a shot at revitalising his Test match career with Scotland. The 31-year-old worked hard to get back into Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad but regular minutes in dark blue remain hard to come by.

We now know Jack Dempsey won’t be available for the Six Nations next year so it makes sense that we see the Edinburgh co-captain given a proper chance next month in the Nations Championship. If he brings his club form to the international stage it will be a huge boost for Scotland’s chances.

3 - It’s time... OBL for Scotland

Speaking of Scotland, the consensus now very much seems to be that Ollie Blyth-Lafferty is ready for the colosseum of Test match rugby. The 20-year-old prop started at tight-head against Zebre and had another solid performance, winning a scrum penalty.

Townsend said he had considered calling up the former under-20 international in the last squad and this time around it would probably be more of a surprise to see him left out. Zander Fagerson remains head and shoulders above anyone else when he’s at his best and the likes of Will Hurd and Elliot Millar Mills are playing regularly in the PREM but Blyth-Lafferty is exactly the sort of success story that supporters want to get behind.

Get him in the squad for the November Test matches and, at the very least, hand him his debut against Japan. From there, the sky appears to be the limit ahead of next year’s Six Nations and Rugby World Cup.

4 - Top of the log after three games and confidence flowing ahead of Toulon

Supporters won’t be getting carried away but even if it’s only three rounds in you can still enjoy the sight of your team sitting top of the standings. Their next URC fixture sees the Lions visit the Hive and that should be a fascinating encounter.

Before that though it’s time for EPCR Challenge Cup action as Toulon visit the Scottish capital on Friday. The French heavyweights parted company with head coach Pierre Mignoni last week and responded with a 29-15 home win over Racing 92 in this weekend’s Top 14 action.

It’s only their second victory of the season and although they are obviously a team packed with quality players the fact that Edinburgh are in such good form and also have home advantage means they should have nothing to fear. There won’t be a player in that squad not relishing the chance to once again claim a big European scalp and, with confidence high, it might very well be foolish to bet against them doing so.

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