Everitt challenges Edinburgh to maintain momentum

Sean Everitt has challenged his Edinburgh players to maintain the momentum built from an excellent opening victory away to Ulster in the URC when they face the Stormers at Hive Stadium on Friday night.

A stunning performance in the first 55 minutes helped Edinburgh run in four tries as they raced into a 34-5 lead, and while they were left holding on as Ulster came roaring back, the capital side left Belfast with the maximum five points.

After a disappointing 12th-place finish in the URC last season, Everitt now wants his side to get points on the league table early this time around.

"It's extremely important," said the head coach. "We didn't start well last year and we were on the back foot immediately.

"We've got the five points now and building momentum is key. Hopefully the youngsters that played last week can take a lot of experience out of that game away from home.

"It's exciting for them to play in front of our fans at Hive Stadium on a Friday night. So yes, it's really important to continue with the momentum, especially with an away game [against Zebre] coming up and then a European game [at home to Toulon] thereafter."

Pierre Schoeman returns to the side having been rested for the Ulster match, with Ollie Blyth-Lafferty also coming into the front row.

The rest of the pack remains unchanged, as does the backline that attacked so impressively in Belfast.

Edinburgh team to face Stormers: Piers O'Conor, Malelili Satala, Matt Currie (co-capt), Kienan Higgins, Geordie Gwynn, James Grayson, Hector Patterson; Pierre Schoeman, Harri Morris, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Callum Hunter-Hill, Glen Young, Liam McConnell, Freddy Douglas, Magnus Bradbury (co-capt).

Replacements: Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Alec Hepburn, Paul Hill, Euan McVie, Tom Currie, Conor McAlpine, Cammy Scott, Rory McHaffie.