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Sean Everitt confident Edinburgh can overturn deficit in 1872 Cup
By PA
Sean Everitt believes Edinburgh are capable of overturning a 12-point deficit in the second leg of the 1872 Cup at Murrayfield but admits they must be far more disciplined than they were in their 22-10 defeat at Glasgow on Friday night.
The men from the capital must produce a big win at the national stadium next Saturday if they are to prevent Warriors retaining the inter-city silverware.
“It is a big deficit but rugby has a funny way of working itself out,” said senior coach Everitt.
“If we play well and execute accurately, there’s no reason why we can’t get the score we need.”
Edinburgh looked to be in a good position as they led 10-8 going into the final quarter after WP Nel cancelled out Kyle Rowe’s early try for the hosts.
But Everitt’s side wilted badly after that, with tries from Warriors pair Johnny Matthews and Ally Miller coming while Grant Gilchrist was in the sin-bin following a 65th minute yellow card.
“We had a slow start in the first 20, it looked like we were a bit shaky, nervous,” said Everitt.
“But we managed to keep them to eight and then got back into the game pretty well before half-time.
“And then we were on top in the second half again but then came a lack of discipline. We conceded eight penalties in the last 24 minutes and if you do that against a team that mauls really well in these conditions, you’re going to be up against it, and obviously the yellow card didn’t help.”
Glasgow head coach Franco Smith praised his injury-hit side for the way they ground out victory despite being without a string of key men, including Scotland internationals Jack Dempsey, Kyle Steyn, Ollie Smith, Matt Fagerson and Jamie Dobie.
“We’ve got 12 injuries, people who probably would have been involved in the game, but the other guys stepped up and that is the plan: to build a strong squad,” said Smith.
“I say always, you need a great squad to make a good team.”
Smith is hopeful that Scotland hooker George Turner, who was forced off in the first half on Friday, will not be added to the absentee list for next weekend’s trip to Edinburgh.
“It was just a shot to his bicep,” said Smith.
“We’ll assess it but it doesn’t look that serious at the moment. It’s serious enough but we’ll have a better idea when the medical team have done their job.”
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Latest Comments
The difference between Fassi and Le Roux?
Almost 100 tests. Fassi is growing from test to test and is already world class. It’s going to be difficult for Damian Willemse to usurp Fassi at 15 and may find himself destined as the utility back on the bomb squad.
South Africans love hating on their fullback. A proud tradition since Percy Montgomery (before he won us a World Cup). So I don’t pay much mind to the noise that follows anyone who puts on the 15 jersey for SA.
15 is a high risk, low reward position. You don’t dare drop a high ball, certainly don’t shank a kick into the stands. In fact if you’re not kicking 60m torpedoes into the opposition corners - stay at home.
And miss tackles? After everyone else on the team has let a break through - best you not miss!
Only Andre Joubert strikes me as a fullback that has been better than Willie. Yet Willie has been widely panned on a regular basis. Irritating.
Fassi is great. And I’m sure he’s learning a lot from Willie.
Go to commentsNo, Penney's win rate as a Super Rugby coach BEFORE he was given a 2 year contract here, was 23%. He came in with a very poor success rate at SR level.
This loser vibe was borne out over the SR season where we won only 4 games while losing 10. Finishing 9th in a 12 team competition & missing a QF spot was next level DOWN.
There's zero evidence that suggests we will win 10 games (70%) as you predict. I understand there may be new assistant coaches coming on board. At this stage, we can only hope for the best.
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