'The club has to turn the corner': Edinburgh Rugby gauntlet laid down ahead of new season
Sean Everitt has sent a clear message to his players as they return for pre-season training ahead of the 2026/27 URC season.
Edinburgh rugby head coach Sean Everitt is under no illusions about the importance of their upcoming season.
The former Sharks boss, who has been in post at the Hive since 2023, has told players they as a collective need to be better and more consistent than previous campaign to ensure the capital club “turn the corner”. The squad returned for pre-season training last week - minus those who have been on international duties - with plenty of new faces amongst the group.
Everitt has challenged them to show consistency across their 2026/27 campaign, something he feels has been lacking for some time. The South African also said he intends to use less players over the course of the season than he was forced to do last time around.
“It's been an inconsistent club for the last 10 [years]” - Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt sends clear message to players
Speaking in a ‘behind the scenes’ video produced by the club, the head coach said: "We used 48 players last season, and there was a lot of growth within this group, but there's certain rugby elements that we need to focus on as well to get better, and as we chatted about them for the new players, this is serious now. The club has to turn the corner, and it's not because it hasn't gone well just for two or three years.
“It's been an inconsistent club for the last 10, and we need to be better than that. We're going to really put a lot of emphasis on injury prevention going into this season so that we can use less players.
“I think it was a positive for us as well that we were able to blood a lot of youngsters earlier than what we expected, so they've been given the experience that might be needed this year, being a World Cup year as well. So I wouldn't see it as a negative, but when you're going to the likes of Bath with 20-year-olds in your team, it does become difficult against international rugby players.
“So yes, we understand that. At the same time, there's obviously rugby reasons as well, where maybe we weren't as good as what we should have been."
Everitt also labelled the 2026/27 season a “fresh start” for the club with several new players and also new faces in the coaching department arriving. He hopes they will bring new ideas that can help the team reach his desired levels of consistency.
“We've struggled for consistency,” the head coach added. “As we all know, and it's not only because we're home and away, and I think we have got better at that. You can see from the fight that the team has shown over the last two years, we certainly have that consistency.
“I think for us it's about showing up every day and showing that we can fight on a daily basis that will build the consistency into our season, as well as the care and obviously the growth in the team, which will come through new ideas from the new coaches and obviously preparing the players better from an S&C point of view as well as looking after them really well from a medical point of view.
“For us it's a fresh start and we mean business from now on. We know that bringing new people together might take a bit of time, but that's not going to be an excuse for us.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.