'There is a perception about Edinburgh that the team has a soft underbelly'

Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt said he was proud of the way his players bounced back from the heavy loss to the Lions to beat the Stormers 38-7.

They were thumped 55-21 in Johannesburg last week after trailing by a league record margin of 48-0 at half-time.

Everitt revealed his players had taken the criticism aimed at them following that game personally, while he admitted it hadn’t been an easy week for him.

But he was a happy man following the five-try bonus point victory over the side from Cape Town.

“There is a perception about Edinburgh Rugby that the team has a soft underbelly,” said the South African.

“The character of the team was questioned last week, the work-rate, the effort and the passion.

“The guys took those comments personally and certainly bounced back with vigour. I am sure they made the supporters proud.”

As for the flak that was fired in his direction after the Lions game, he said: “It comes with the territory. For me, it was about taking responsibility for our actions last week, leading the way forward and getting the team up to put in a good performance.

“It wasn’t easy for me personally, but I enjoy the challenge, otherwise I wouldn’t be in this job.

“I am really proud of how the guys responded. I am a happy man.

“Had we lost again, then you suddenly start doubting what you are doing. We can take confidence out of the fact that when we manage the game properly, we perform well. It was a great victory and good for the team.

“The first three weeks have been tough for us, so hats off to the leadership group for pulling it together and getting the guys back on track. I am very happy to get the win. It was a really good performance.”

Skipper Grant Gilchrist said: “A lot of questions were asked of us after last week and rightly so. It wasn’t acceptable.

“Every time we wear this jersey, we wear it with pride, we didn’t do that last week. Our character was questioned. We had to show who we are as people and what this club stands for.

“For our fans who stuck with us and supported us, all I can say is thank you. They showed a lot of faith in us, turning out in their numbers and cheering us on. I hope they went home happy.

“We build from here, our season starts here.”

The Player of the Match award went to two-try flanker Ben Muncaster, who said: “We needed that after three losses in a row. Actions speak louder than words and I think we did that.”