Sean Everitt always aimed to settle on his strongest Edinburgh side by this stage of the season and then to get it out onto the field against Glasgow, and everything has gone almost entirely to plan for the senior coach. Darcy Graham starts for the first time this season after making his return off the bench in last week’s Challenge Cup win over Castres, WP Nel is back from injury to take his usual place in the front row, and Emiliano Boffelli is ready to come off the bench for his first appearance of the campaign.
Graham and Nel are the only changes to the starting line-up, but perhaps the most important selection is one which remains unchanged: that of Ali Price at No 9 for what will be the on-loan scrum-half’s first game against his parent club.
Ben Vellacott was appointed by Everitt as Edinburgh’s co-captain at the start of the season, and he will remain an important player for the club, above all when the likes of Price are away on international duty. But when it comes to big-game experience, there is no doubt that the on-loan Warrior has the edge.
Everitt referred to that experience after announcing his team yesterday, and although he insisted that Price had not been asked to divulge any secret information about Glasgow’s lineout codes, he made it clear that the 30-year-old’s inside knowledge of the home team could prove invaluable this season. “Ali has settled in very quickly - a lot quicker than I thought he would after being at Glasgow for so many years,” the coach said.
“Ali has the experience of international rugby, and he’s comfortable with playing at Scotstoun. We will definitely look to Ali to bring calmness to the group.
“We know that emotions can run high. But having a guy like him with in-depth knowledge of Glasgow has been extremely helpful.
“We could have asked Ali for a lot of advice. First of all, ethically it’s not right. Two, we need to focus on our job and not worry about what Glasgow bring - we don’t want to be side-tracked by knowing what their calls are.”
Price may well be on the receiving end of some stick from his old team-mates and the home crowd, but Everitt has no doubt he can cope. “I definitely think he’s got the personality and character. He’s played for Scotland many times and we know what abuse is given from the stands, so I don’t think he would be fazed by that.”
Graham and Boffelli also come into that unfazed category, and after having to do without them both until the Scot’s return off the bench last week, Everitt is now in the happy position of having those two world-class performers back in the 23. “We’ve been working towards trying to get our big-name players back - Darcy and Emiliano had been carrying injuries for some time,” he continued. “And it was always my plan that when it came to Castres-Glasgow-Glasgow we would try and be at our best.
“The plan has come together quite nicely and timeously, but in saying that, when it comes to derby games, all derbies are 50-50. It doesn’t matter who you put out on the field, the guys need to perform to the best of their ability to get a result.”
“Having a guy coming off the bench who has played in a World Cup semi-final is really helpful to the team and their cause,” he said of Boffelli. “And I’m sure that when he comes off the bench he will add some spark to the team and at the same time the team will take a lot of confidence from his presence on the field.”
Yet for all that Price and the back three will have important roles to play for the visitors, Everitt believes that, as ever, a good all-round performance by his team will be required to give them a victory that will either see them go level on points with their rivals near the top of the URC or even overtake them.
“I think the key deciding factors will be discipline, set-piece and the breakdown. We know that Glasgow defended really well over the last part of the competition, and they’ve also won a lot of turnovers on the deck. So if we are accurate with regards to the breakdown and put pressure on theirs, I believe that will be the biggest deciding factor of all.”
Edinburgh (v Glasgow at Scotstoun, tonight 7.35pm): W Goosen; D Graham, M Currie, J Lang, D van der Merwe; B Healy, A Price; P Schoeman, E Ashman, W Nel, G Young, G Gilchrist (captain), J Ritchie, H Watson, V Mata. Replacements: D Cherry, B Venter, D Rae, M Sykes, L Crosbie, B Vellacott, M Bennett, E Boffelli.
