Sean Everitt lauds Edinburgh bench impact in win over Zebre

While Edinburgh’s attack again did not function as it has shown glimpses of doing, the power game was key to their success.  

READ MORE: Five things we learned as Edinburgh boost play-off hopes with Zebre win

“Happy with the five points, frustrating second half," was Everitt's verdict immediately post-match. 

He added: "Credit to Zebre, they’ve given a hard time to every opposition that they’ve played against.  

“So we knew we were going to be in a tussle, I’m just happy that the guys showed the composure in the last 20 to pull it through comfortably.” 

He also sung the praises of his Scotland hooker, who crashed over from two driving lineouts in the first half.   

“He’s done really well,” Everitt said of Ashman since his arrival at the club from Sale Sharks.  

“He’s worked incredibly hard at his game: when he arrived here, he was criticised for his lineout throwing - he’s now the second-best lineout thrower in the URC with the most throws. He’s come on in leaps and bounds.  

“He’s been really good for us and deserved his man-of-the-match award this evening.” 

There were some excellent contributions from the bench, notably Ben Vellacott who made two terrific breaks after replacing Ali Price on the hour.  

Everitt lauded the impact of his replacements.  

He said: “If you look at Zebre throughout the season, the last 20 minutes is where they have fallen short.  

“It was important for us to start well and try to fatigue the opposition.  

“Marshall Sykes' power game is right up there with the best, and [we had] three incredibly good subs coming on in the front row earning us a number of scrum penalties.  

“That's exactly what we had hoped for." 

Edinburgh finished the game with 14 men after Bill Mata limped off injured, but Everitt said that was a precautionary measure.  

Bill Mata on the charge for Edinburgh (Image: SNS)

“Bill suffered with a bit of cramp,” the Edinburgh head coach explained.  

“He put in a big performance tonight with his ball carrying, and he does get us over the gain line.  

“We did finish with 14 but it was one of those he said he could push through but we didn't want it to turn into a long-term injury.” 

With the game wrapped up, he also removed Ben Healy and gave Cammy Scott the final four minutes, ending Healy’s run of playing every minute of every match in the URC season so far.  

Cammy Scott came on for the closing stages and kicked two conversions (Image: SNS)

Everitt added: “I wanted to give Cammy Scott a go. It was hard on Cammy as well because we put the other six guys on the bench early.  

“We were concerned because Jamie [Ritchie] went down and we were holding Cammy because Chris Dean can always go to loose forward if needs be, which he did for the last scrum and got a penalty. Otherwise the squad is healthy.