Fit-again Scotland duo set for late charge for Six Nations squad

Edinburgh hope Argentina star Emiliano Boffelli can still play a major role in their bid for a URC play-off place and the knockout stages of the European Challenge Cup as he targets a return to action late next month.

The accomplished full-back, who turns 30 on 16 January, has yet to play this season after withdrawing from Edinburgh’s opening URC game against Leinster with a recurrence of a back problem.

That ultimately forced Boffelli to have surgery to deal with the issue, but he is making good progress having returned to light training.

While head coach Sean Everitt said he had no specific game in mind for a potential comeback, Edinburgh travel to face Munster in the URC on 28 February during a down weekend of the Six Nations.

They then have six games left of the URC regular season left following the conclusion of the Six Nations, and also hope to be contesting the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup in April.

“All I know is that he's got through some really good running blocks, which is positive for us,” Everitt said of Boffelli. “It's week by week for him, but we are hoping for him to be available at the end of February.

“If you look at the URC log, it’s extremely tight. There's only four or five points separating third and fourth from nine to 10. So having Boff available in those crucial games is going to be important for us.

“He's a big name in the team and he's got massive presence for us, and we saw that in a couple of games that he played for us earlier in 2024. So, we'd love to see him back in the jersey.”

Boffelli was restricted him to just five starts for Edinburgh last season after returning from the Rugby World Cup.

Meanwhile, another full-back, Scotland cap Harry Paterson, is poised to make his own comeback after recovering from a torn hamstring sustained on international duty during the autumn.

Edinburgh travel to face French Top 14 bottom side Vannes on Saturday before concluding their European group games with a home game against Richard Cockerill’s Black Lion the following weekend.

“It's very handy, particularly with the Six Nations coming up,” Everitt said of the return of Paterson, who has played only one game for the club this term.

“Harry is back and it'll be his first full week of training with the team this week, which is great for him.”

Scotland lock Glen Young is also set for his first outing of the season having had to bide his time since returning to fitness last month following a chest injury suffered on Scotland’s summer tour of the Americas.

“It's always difficult when you've got a guy that hasn't played for a period of time to bring him in against tough opposition like we've had in December. But he'll get his opportunity in the next couple of weeks.

“We know what he's capable of. This time last year he was playing his best rugby and got selection for the Six Nations squad, so he will definitely get an opportunity.”

Scotland hooker Ewan Ashman and former England prop Paul Hill are both set to be given an extra week to recover fully from shoulder and calf injuries, but scrum-half Ben Vellacott is fit to return.