Duhan van der Merwe will get another chance to play himself into form and stake a claim for Scotland after being released to play for Edinburgh in their final URC match before the November internationals, against Benetton on Saturday.
The giant wing was forced off with a dislocated finger just 18 minutes into his comeback from an ankle issue last Friday, in Edinburgh’s 31-10 home win over the Lions. Having been named in Scotland’s squad for the November Nations Championship block despite his lack of game time, Van der Merwe will hope for a more productive outing at the Stadio Monigo. Scotland face New Zealand a week later in the first of their three Murrayfield fixtures next month, with Australia and Japan to follow.
“He’s looking well,” said Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt. “He trained with Scotland early in the week, just like the other internationals, and he’ll be with us today. He’ll come up to speed really quickly and he’s excited to get another opportunity. It didn’t last long on Friday night.”
Graham and McConnell
Fellow wing Darcy Graham, who missed the Lions game with a tight calf, has not been released by Scotland, despite managing only one 60-minute outing so far this season, against Toulon on 16 October. Everitt revealed that Graham “hasn’t quite recovered” from his calf strain sufficiently to be considered by Edinburgh, but he should be fit if Scotland call on him against the All Blacks.
“He is with Scotland at the moment, so it’s best for him with the Test matches coming up, if he’s selected, that he does not play this week,” Everitt said. “We have guys that are in form at our club at the moment and we’re willing to back them.”
Scotland have also released flanker Liam McConnell, which suggests the 22-year-old may not be at the front of Gregor Townsend‘s mind for a starting spot against New Zealand, despite an impressive start to the season.
“It’s great for us to get Liam back,” Everitt said. “He had a rest a couple of weeks ago and he’s a guy in form at the moment. He’s really massive for us in the lineout, and he’s certainly been one of the form loose-forwards in Scotland.”
Team changes
Alec Hepburn returns at loosehead after missing the last three games with a concussion, while Harris Morris steps up from the bench to start at hooker. Scotland have retained Pierre Schoeman and hooker Ewan Ashman ahead of the All Blacks date. Flanker Freddy Douglas is also back at openside after missing the Lions match with a concussion.
Douglas tops the URC charts for turnovers, with eight in three games so far. He was considered unfortunate, like No.8 and captain Magnus Bradbury, to miss out on a place in Scotland’s Nations Championship squad. There were also no places for veteran lock Grant Gilchrist or emerging youngsters such as prop Ollie Blyth-Lafferty and scrum-half Hector Patterson. Only five Edinburgh players made Townsend’s 37-man party.
Everitt has urged those omitted to maintain their recent high standards, given the likelihood of injuries creating further opportunities as the international window unfolds.
“They’re fine, they know where they are and they know there’s growth in their game, and I’m sure that’s been explained to them by the Scotland coaches what is expected of them,” he said.
“Freddy is a guy that just goes about his business on a daily basis really well, and I’m sure he’s looking to put in a good performance, because there’s going to be opportunity in November. The nature of the game is there will be injuries, and these guys that have come back to us have an opportunity to put their hand up for selection going forward in November.
“Maggie is a fighter and he’s been in this position before. He has played well for us. There’s obviously different opinions on what is needed in international rugby, and that’s fine. I’m sure those have been communicated to him. For him, it’s about continuing in the fine form that he has. Sometimes the player that’s playing is in a better situation than the player holding bags at Oriam.”
Edinburgh’s chance to make history
The flip side means Edinburgh, the surprise early leaders of the URC, have a stronger hand to play as they look to make history with a fifth straight win from the start of the season. That would beat their previous-best start, which matched the four wins they recorded in 2015-16, when they won their first four games in the old Pro12.
“I’m delighted that they’re all available, and it allows us to have some continuity and makes training and preparation easier,” Everitt noted. “But I think the message to them is that they’ve got opportunities and they’ve got to keep knocking on the door.
“It’s also for the youngsters to understand where they are and how many games they’ve played at the top level. I’m talking about EPCR and Champions Cup as well as the URC. Sometimes it’s difficult to just break in as a youngster, because experience at international level counts a lot. Sometimes people will look at form and say, in the short term, that this player is better than that player. But ultimately, you’ve got to perform at the top stage, and you’re always going to go for experience.”
Other changes on the Edinburgh bench see Callum Hunter-Hill take over from Marshall Sykes as second-row cover, fly-half Ross Thompson, who has yet to feature this season, replace Cammy Scott, and hooker Jerry Blyth-Lafferty join the replacements.
Treviso test
Edinburgh eked out a 15-14 win on their last visit to Treviso in early January, after losing at the Stadio Monigo in each of the four previous seasons of the URC. Benetton, coached by Wayne Pivac, sit 15th in the table. They opened with a draw against the Dragons and have since suffered three narrow defeats, including a 24-20 home loss to Glasgow last week.
“I thought they were unlucky to lose that game,” Everitt added. “They were ahead all the way through until the last few minutes, so it’s a good test for us and our resilience away from home. It’s part of our growth to perform better when we’re away from home.
“Going into the first game against Ulster, we were confident as a group that we could get these wins away. I’m really pleased. I wouldn’t have predicted four out of four, but a fifth is certainly within our grasp.
“We’ve got a good blend of youth and experience. What’s great for us at the moment is that the soul of our team, the guys that are here every day training and not maybe getting those Scotland call-ups, and the youngsters that are coming through, are putting their hands up. They’re making it extremely difficult for us around the selection table, and that’s brilliant for us going forward as a club.”
Edinburgh team to face Benetton
Starting XV: 15 Piers O’Conor; 14 Geordie Gwynn, 13 Matt Currie (co-captain), 12 Mosese Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe; 10 James Grayson, 9 Hector Patterson; 1 Alec Hepburn, 2 Harris Morris, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 4 Glen Young, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 6 Liam McConnell, 7 Freddy Douglas, 8 Magnus Bradbury (co-captain).
Replacements: 16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 17 Jamie Stewart, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Tom Currie, 21 Conor McAlpine, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Harry Paterson.