Sean Everitt Names Four Changes for Edinburgh Vs Connacht
Edinburgh vs Connacht now comes with four changes to the starting XV, and Sean Everitt has put Magnus Bradbury back at number 8 for Friday’s BKT United Rugby Championship home finale at Hive Stadium. Kick-off is 7.45pm, with Edinburgh trying to finish the 2025/26 campaign with a fourth consecutive victory.
Bradbury Returns at Hive Stadium
Bradbury is the most direct change. He returns to the starting XV at number 8, while Tom Currie drops to the replacements. Everitt also brought Marshall Sykes into the second row and moved Glen Young alongside him, giving Edinburgh a reshaped engine room for the final home game.
Grant Gilchrist is out after sustaining a finger injury in last weekend’s bonus-point win over Dragons RFC at Rodney Parade. That opened the door for Tom Dodd to start at blindside flanker and for Piers O’Conor to replace Mosese Tuipulotu at outside centre.
Edinburgh’s Backline Balance
The rest of the side keeps a steady core. Darcy Graham, Duhan van der Merwe and Harry Paterson remain in the back three, with Findlay Thomson making his fourth straight start. Ross Thompson stays at stand-off alongside scrum-half Hector Patterson, who is also making his fourth consecutive start.
Ewan Ashman continues at hooker after winning the BKT Player of the Match award in three straight games. Pierre Schoeman starts at loosehead prop, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty at tighthead prop and Freddy Douglas completes the loose trio. It leaves Edinburgh with a settled spine despite the four changes above it.
Change The Game at Hive
The fixture carries more than league weight. Edinburgh said 15 players in the 23-man squad came through its academy system, the group has an average age of 25, and seven players are 21 or under. The club’s annual Change The Game match is also aimed at raising £70,000 for its Official Charity Partner, It’s Good 2 Give.
Everitt said the competition for places has been fierce and that he has loved seeing the fight for the jersey through this last block of games. He also pointed to “three wins on the bounce” and said the chance to make it four in a row, in front of home fans, is “a brilliant way to close out our season.”
The game will be live on Premier Sports, and Edinburgh go into it with momentum, a changed pack and a chance to send supporters away with another win.
