Sean Everitt is adamant Edinburgh can put right the errors that saw them ship a record first-half scoreline to the Lions in time for the visit of another South African side, Stormers, to Hive Stadium on Saturday evening.
The South African conceded the performance of his charges in the opening 40 minutes in Johannesburg “wasn’t good enough” and again bemoaned his side’s failure to apply the kicking strategy he had delivered pre-match.
Everitt said: “One of the focus points going into the game was that we had to win the transition battle, and yet we gave them three turnovers to play from, which they executed accurately. And three loose kicks.
And the Edinburgh coach attempted to put a positive spin on his side’s second half showing, in which they scored three tries but failed to come away with a bonus point after spurning a late opportunity for a fourth score.
Everitt continued: “I think the pleasing part of it - if there is anything pleasing about it - was how the team turned it around at half-time.
“They stuck to the kick strategy right from kick-off. They got five metres from the try line and kept the pressure on the Lions for the entire second half. So that’s pleasing.
“The first half was disappointing and we know what went wrong. We gave them what they wanted and we’ve got to take it on the chin.”
Everitt said he has been encouraged by the response of his players in the aftermath of the weekend mauling.
"The players have taken accountability for their performance,” he added.
“It’s really difficult to fix a problem if there is no accountability. They’ve taken responsibility for the performance and I’m really proud of them, and I’m proud of the leaders for how they’ve handled this.
With Cardiff to come at Hive Stadium after 2022 champions Stormers this weekend, Everitt knows back-to-back home games offers his chance to get their first win of the new campaign.
But he insisted Edinburgh won’t be using the schedule as an excuse for their showing in Johannesburg.
“We can’t use the fixture list as an excuse," Everitt continued.
“We always knew it was going to be a tricky start, travelling early, but we saw that as an opportunity to grow as a group.
“We can’t let 40 minutes of rugby against the Lions put us into total doom.
“We’ve identified what we need to fix and it’s my job as a coach to fix it.
“I said earlier to the coaches that I’m an educator and my job is to help people get through and get better, and I need to fix the problem with the group of players that we have with us.
“And they certainly are accountable.”
The Edinburgh head coach also said he will make changes with performance, injuries and international rest protocols all factors he has to consider.
Everitt continued: “It’s easy to blame everyone when you come off a loss like that, especially when you’ve been embarrassed in 40 minutes, conceding a record score in the URC.
“We’ve got two days to prepare for this game on the weekend, we’ll make the changes that we feel is necessary to make our performance better. If you expect changes, there will be, yes.”
One area Edinburgh are likely to be forced into a change is at hooker, with Dave Cherry missing the Lions drubbing and Ewan Ashman forced off with an ankle injury.
Everitt provided an update on the Scotland hooker.
“Ewan Ashman came off with concussion - he won’t make it this week due to return-to-play protocols,” he said.
That will mean a start for Paddy Harrison, who was the stand-out among Edinburgh’s replacements last Saturday.
Duhan van der Merwe will also come back into contention after his late withdrawal at Emirates Airline Park, while Edinburgh will make a decision on whether Harry Paterson makes his first appearance of the season later in the week.
Everitt continued: “Harry Paterson trained this afternoon and he’s joining team training and we’ll look at his fitness.
"He hasn’t had a pre-season like all the other players, we also don’t want to risk him. We need to rest Darcy Graham in the upcoming weeks, so it’s important for us to get Harry back on the field, fit and ready to go.”
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