By Graham Bean

Copyright scotsman

Last season’s seventh-place finish was the joint highest recorded by Edinburgh in the admittedly short history of the United Rugby Championship but that hasn’t stopped the club puffing out their metaphorical chests and declaring their ambitions to be a top-four side. Head coach Sean Everitt and scrum-half Ben Vellacott have both made that point in recent days and a win this Saturday over Zebre away would be a good first step in hitting their target. The URC opener in Parma is against opponents they conspicuously failed to beat last season, losing at home in February and then scraping a draw in Italy in April. Given Zebre are the league’s traditional basement dwellers, this was hardly auspicious but was indicative of Edinburgh’s wildly fluctuating form. In the city that inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, you have a rugby team that veers between rampant and wretched. Two weeks after the nadir of Zebre at home, the squad travelled to Cork and beat former champions Munster in their own backyard with one of the standout performances of the Everitt reign. It was a result that kickstarted a second-half-of-the-season revival and, although there were a few blips, Edinburgh ultimately beat Connacht and Ulster in their final two league games to clinch a place in the play-offs for the first time in three years. They also defeated South African sides the Lions and the Bulls in the knockout rounds of the EPCR Challenge Cup before succumbing to Bath in the semi-finals. A new season has seen the appointment of a new skipper, with Magnus Bradbury taking over from last season’s co-captains, Grant Gilchrist and Vellacott. It was Bradbury who spoke about a more “player led” approach after the home loss to Zebre as he explained how a team meeting saw the squad stand up and take more responsibility. He didn’t like how Everitt was taking the blame for the players’ failings and took affirmative action. The No 8 has matured into an impressive leader and his willingness to front up augurs well for Edinburgh. Part of Everitt’s reasoning for appointing Bradbury was that he should be around all year but if he continues the form he was in at the end last season he could well win a Scotland recall. Edinburgh had a horrible start to their URC campaign last year, losing their first three games to Leinster, the Bulls and the Lions. This season’s opening fixtures look a little kinder. After Zebre, it’s Ulster (h), Munster (a), Benetton (h) and Cardiff (a) before the URC takes a break for the autumn Tests. They don’t travel to South Africa until March so there is an opportunity to build momentum. Edinburgh suffered wretched luck in their pre-season friendly against Ulster, losing two of their new signings to serious injuries. It was confirmed this week that both Rhys Litterick and Charlie McCaig are likely to miss the entire campaign. As Everitt noted this week, “the season’s probably over for both of them before it started”. Tighthead prop Litterick, who joined from Cardiff, ruptured his Achilles tendon while former Exeter centre McCaig picked up a knee injury. Everitt says he has no plans to return to the market and he has five other new signings to bed in over the coming weeks. Two came from Leicester Tigers, with loosehead James Whitcombe and wing Malelili Satala already making an impression in pre-season. Piers O’Conor, the experienced centre, has joined from Connacht. Unfortunately, Dylan Richardson and Callum Hunter-Hill will miss the start of the season with back issues but both are pencilled in to return early next month. Scotland hooker Richardson joined the club from the Sharks while lock Hunter-Hill returns to Edinburgh after a successful six-year spell in England with Saracens and Northampton Saints. Some big personalities left the club in the summer, with Jamie Ritchie, David Cherry and Ali Price all heading to new clubs in France. Fellow stalwarts Mark Bennett, Emiliano Boffelli, Matt Scott and Robin Hislop were all released after a season in which injuries limited their ability to contribute as they would have liked. In addition, Javan Sebastian joined Cardiff, Jamie Hodgson signed for Newcastle and the unlucky Nathan Sweeney was forced to retire. More left than arrived and Everitt will look to the club’s young talent to fill the gaps. Bradbury, Gilchrist and Pierre Schoeman will lead from the front for Edinburgh but the player who supplies the x-factor is Darcy Graham. The prolific winger will miss Saturday’s opener but should be available for the first home game of the season against Ulster a week on Friday as he continues his return to fitness after injuring his ankle playing for the Lions. Edinburgh always look more dangerous when Graham is in the team and the hope is that he can have an injury-free season. A big season beckons for scrum-half Conor McAlpine who has stepped up to the senior squad after signing a two-year deal. With Price having left for Montpellier, Edinburgh opted not to sign a new No 9, instead placing their faith in McAlpine and fellow Scotland Under-20 international Hector Patterson. Both will provide back-up to Ben Vellacott. Promising back-rower Tom Currie should also make the breakthrough this season. No-one scored more points in the URC last season than Ross Thompson whose tally of 128 came from three tries, 13 penalties and 37 conversions. It was an impressive first campaign in Edinburgh colours for the stand-off following his move from Glasgow Warriors as he supplanted Ben Healy in the No 10 jersey. Healy, who was the URC’s top scorer in 2023-24 (175 points), is expected to return to the Edinburgh starting side against Zebre on Saturday as Thompson is nursing a bruised toe. It’s Everitt’s third season in charge and the head coach is now in the final year of his contract. Alex Williamson, Scottish Rugby’s chief executive, has indicated he is keen for Everitt to sign a new deal and the coach seems amenable to the idea. The South African endured a difficult first year as Edinburgh finished 10th in the URC and missed out on the play-offs but last season saw a big improvement as the team made the play-off quarter-finals where they lost to the Bulls in South Africa. Everitt is assisted by forwards coach Stevie Lawrie, defence coach Michael Todd, attack and backs coach Scott Mathie and skills coach Rob Chrystie. 2021-22: Quarter-finalists (7th in league, lost 28-17 to Stormers in QF) 2022-23: 12th in league, failed to make play-offs 2023-24: 10th in league, failed to make play-offs 2024-25: Quarter-finalists (7th in league, lost 42-33 to Bulls in QF) To put their supporters through the wringer by going into the final day of the regular season with their top eight status hanging in the balance. Win architectural awards. Hive Stadium is compact and functional but has a temporary feel and offers little protection from the Edinburgh winter. Having said that, it’s better than rattling around in the adjacent Murrayfield bowl. Hard to see Edinburgh breaking into the top four when they’d have to finish ahead of the likes of Leinster, the Bulls, the Sharks and Glasgow to do so. However, they should again make the play-offs where anything is possible.