While the Sharks and their Edinburgh opponents will be more interested in United Rugby Championship points in Durban on Saturday, it is impossible to overlook the sub-plot of Sean Everitt returning to his former stomping ground.
The 54-year-old Edinburgh coach gave almost two decades of service to the Durban union before an unfortunate exit following a shock 35-0 loss at home to Cardiff in November 2022.
It is a moot point to suggest that it was hardly Everitt’s fault that the squad he had for that game was of Currie Cup standard in the absence of the Sharks’ large Springbok contingent, but what is real is that Everitt was made the fall guy.
The affable Everitt had a stint assisting Jake White at the Bulls before landing a great job in one of the best cities in the world. Who says nice guys come second?
And Edinburgh have done well under his stewardship – they come to Durban in sixth place and some way ahead of the 14th-placed Sharks.
When John Plumtree was busy with his first tenure as Sharks coach (2008-2012), Everitt would have been coaching at the age-group level.
They are both good guys, and while there will be no beef between them on Saturday, you can be sure Everitt wouldn’t mind showing the Sharks hierarchy that fired him the middle finger.
That sounds easier said than done, given that Edinburgh were soundly beaten 43-21 by the Stormers last week, while the Sharks had a good 22-12 win over Ulster, but don’t write the Scots off, because this is the game they have targeted for a win.
And that is more by circumstance than Everitt wanting to prove a point against the Sharks – this second week of their tour is when they have more of their Scotland internationals back, plus they will be better acclimatised.
After the Stormers game, Everitt said the only focus is on qualifying for the play-offs: “Coming to South Africa on tour, it is not about the Stormers or the Sharks. It is about Edinburgh making every log point count in our remaining six games.
“We can finish in the top four and certainly the top eight, and after losing to a very good Stormers team, we have to regroup in Durban and carefully plot our way forward, because the conditions will be tougher and more difficult than Cape Town.”
Everitt is alluding to the heat and humidity the Ulster players said they found tough last week, and he knows those conditions like the back of his hand and how to play in them.
“Coming to Cape Town was difficult first up as the Stormers have done exceptionally well at home over the last two campaigns. They rarely lose at the DHL Stadium. They’re a very good team, and they had Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse calling the shots nicely,” he said.
“Bringing our team here, like any northern hemisphere team, is always a challenge. But the belief is there.
“Edinburgh got a win over the Sharks here two years ago, and the Ospreys got a win over the Lions at Ellis Park several weeks ago.
“So, there’s a bit of belief building that teams can be beaten in South Africa.”
Everitt confirmed that most of his Scotland internationals will play in Durban, including superstar wing Duhan van der Merwe, who was seen on the club’s social media accounts yesterday arriving in KwaZulu-Natal with the rest of the Edinburgh team.
Durban: Day One 🇿🇦🌴
— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) March 25, 2024
We caught up with Duhan ahead of another big training week 💪 pic.twitter.com/OOEVrfvFzW
“It will be good to get players with international experience back,” Everitt said.
“If we look at the past games, the northern hemisphere teams have found it hard to win here. So, we have to get the players to believe.
“We’ve had two games at home against South African teams, and on their day, we can beat any of them.
“We beat the Bulls, who are on fire at the moment, and have to believe we can also beat these teams away from home.
“Edinburgh had a taste of success before, and it’s still spoken about as I was a coach at the Sharks at the time.”