Freddy Douglas will need to be patient at Edinburgh - Sean Everitt

Douglas has been the stand-out performer for Scotland under-20s in the past 12 months and turned in excellent performances for Edinburgh second-string ‘A’ team.

Those displays have earned him a place in Gregor Townsend’s Autumn Nations Series squad, with the young openside still to make his senior professional bow.  

Freddy Douglas won five turnovers for Edinburgh 'A' against Glasgow Warriors 'A' last weekend (Image: Edinburgh Rugby) But with Scotland caps Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury and Luke Crosbie all in the senior squad, finding a place for Douglas in his squad is likely to be a dilemma Everitt has to solve sooner rather than later.  

The Edinburgh coach explained: “At the moment it’s tough to get into the senior group. 

“Looking at the start that we had and the big six-week block and the number of senior loose forwards that we have, it wasn’t our plan to play Freddy in the first block but, going forward, he is continuously putting up his hand for selection and he could be rewarded.” 

Nevertheless, Everitt was delighted to see the teenager called into the Scotland squad for the first time.  

“It's a great selection,” he said.  

“As you can see by the numbers Gregor has selected, he's also looking to grow depth and international experience.  

“He has been the standout player for us in the 'A' games we've had and in the under-20s. We know Freddy has got potential to play at the highest level.  

“He's just turned 19 and I'm sure Edinburgh Rugby will benefit from his experience of being able to live with seasoned international players for a month. We're happy for him, and proud of him.” 

Douglas is one of 15 Edinburgh players selected by Townsend, and Everitt will have to make do without four of his most experienced players for the Ospreys match.  

Pierre Schoeman, Darcy Graham, last week’s man of the match Ali Price and captain Grant Gilchrist are all rested, while Everitt has opted to leave out hooker Paddy Harrison.  

Pierre Schoeman will sit out the trip to Bridgend (Image: SNS) The Edinburgh coach added: “We've got four guys who are resting which is good for Scottish rugby, the players cannot continue playing for several weeks in a row.  

“My personal policy is I try not to play players for more than five in a row and we've rotated successfully and grown depth by doing that.   

“It's great we've got the depth in the squad to still field a match 23 as strong as we have.” 

Harry Paterson, another included in the Scotland squad, will make his first league appearance of the season having played two games for the ‘A’ team.  

Everitt is pleased to have the Scotland international back fit after he suffered an foot injury in pre-season.  

“He's a Scottish international - he did really well on his debut against France earlier in the year, unfortunately, we haven't seen much of him with Edinburgh since then.  

“We've brought him back in slowly, we got him minutes with the 'A' team - he got 30 minutes [against Bath] and last week we pushed him through to 80 minutes knowing he was always going to start this game.” 

Paterson’s introduction means Wes Goosen replaces Graham on the wing, with Duhan van der Merwe completing the back three.  

Harry Paterson is back at fullback (Image: SNS) Matt Scott will make his 100th appearance for the club at inside centre, partnering Matt Currie in the midfield, while Ross Thompson – who narrowly missed out on the Scotland squad – is again at fly-half.  

A century of appearances for Scott will come 11 years after his debut and in his third spell at the club.  

Everitt said: “Matt's been great. He's got high standards and sets himself high standards. When we had a conversation around him returning to Edinburgh after he left Leicester, he said to me, ‘I don't want to be a training number, I'm going to fight for a start’ and he's certainly done that.  

“He's certainly added some good advice to all within and around the squad and set good examples of how to go day by day as a living professional. 

"We're just very happy that he's been able to be rewarded for his 100th cap at Edinburgh.” 

Price’s stand-down means Ben Vellacott returns at scrum-half, while Gilchrist’s absence means he also assumes the captaincy. 

Up front, Boan Venter and D’Arcy Rae pack down either side of Ewan Ashman, while Jamie Hodgson joins Marshall Sykes in the second row in place of Gilchrist.  

Hamish Watson is back in the number seven jersey, with Ben Muncaster shifting to eight in place of the rested Bradbury.  

On the bench, three players – prop Angus Williams and lock Glen Young could make their first appearances of the season after making timely recoveries from injury, while Charlie Shiel is also in line for his first run-out this term.   

Ben Healy is also back having been dropped following the 55-21 defeat by the Lions, with Everitt saying his side were “directionless” in attack in Johannesburg.  

Ben Healy is back on the bench for Edinburgh But the Scotland fly-half has responded well with good showings for the ‘A’ team, Everitt said, and replaces Cammy Scott on the bench.  

"Ben’s been great,” he said.  

“Sometimes you need to go back to the drawing board and he’s certainly performed well in the ‘A’ team games. 

"He acknowledges and is accountable for his performances and that’s why he’ll always get better.  

“That’s what every player needs to know: they need to identify the areas they need to work on and then they need to go and do the business.  

“That’s exactly what Ben has done and has been rewarded for his form in the ‘A’ team by being on the bench this weekend.” 

Edinburgh: Harry Paterson, Wes Goosen, Matt Currie, Matt Scott, Duhan van der Merwe, Ross Thompson, Ben Vellacott (captain); Boan Venter, Ewan Ashman, D’Arcy Rae, Marshall Sykes, Jamie Hodgson, Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Ben Muncaster 

Replacements: Dave Cherry, Angus Williams, Paul Hill, Glen Young, Luke Crosbie, Charlie Shiel, Ben Healy, Mosese Tuipulotu