Schoeman fit for Sharks as Gilchrist set to hit Edinburgh landmark

Scotland international Pierre Schoeman will return for Edinburgh when they take on Sharks in his native South Africa in Saturday’s European Challenge Cup quarter-final.

The return of the prop – who has recovered from concussion – is the only change to the side that booked a place in the last eight with victory over Bayonne last weekend.

Lock Grant Gilchrist will co-captain the side when he follows in the footsteps of Allan Jacobsen, Chris Paterson and current team-mate WP Nel in making his 200th appearance for the club.

Head coach Sean Everitt said: “I’d firstly like to congratulate Grant on reaching 200 appearances for the club. It’s a fantastic achievement for a top professional who truly bleeds Edinburgh.

“This is his club and I know how much it means to represent this city and our supporters week in, week out.

“After arriving in Durban earlier this week, we’ve continued to prepare well for what is a massive fixture for the club.

“We’ve spoken all week about the collective belief needed to win on the road in tough conditions. We’ve done it before and will need those same levels of energy and commitment once again.

“It’s great to welcome Pierre back to the starting line-up. He’s a quality player with a huge amount of experience at the very top level of rugby.”

Everitt added: “We’ve taken a lot of belief from last weekend’s knockout win against Bayonne. That second half set the standard of how we want to perform moving forward into the crucial business end of the campaign.”

Another prop, Boan Venter, returns to the bench in Durban following injury.