No Duhan van der Merwe in Bulls v Edinburgh clash
Edinburgh have suffered a major blow, with the news of their star player Duhan van der Merwe.
The Scotland international will miss the upcoming United Rugby Championship quarterfinal clash against the Bulls on Saturday.
The 29-year-old has been recovering from an injury he sustained in March.
The South African-born back has travelled with the team to Pretoria and has been training.
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“Duhan [van der Merwe] has been back training with us here in Pretoria this week, and he’s feeling good,” Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt said.
“However, he’s probably still a few days away from being ready to return to full match action.
“We’re managing his return carefully to ensure he’s fully prepared when he does step back onto the field.”
Meanwhile, club centurion Jamie Ritchie returns to the starting line-up.
Ritchie’s inclusion is the only chage to the starting side that defeated Ulster to clinch Edinburgh’s playoff berth a fortnight ago. He starts at blindside flanker as Ben Muncaster shifts to the bench.
Pierre Schoeman returns to face his former club at loosehead, with Ewan Ashman (hooker) and D’arcy Rae (tighthead) forming the front row.
At lock, Marshall Sykes and Sam Skinner start together for the third week in a row, as club co-captain Grant Gilchrist remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
The capital backline is unchanged, with Wes Goosen starting at fullback alongside Scotland wing duo Darcy Graham and Harry Paterson in the back-three.
May’s Scottish Building Society Player of the Month James Lang starts at inside-centre alongside Matt Currie in the midfield, with Ross Thompson and Ali Price forming a familiar partnership at flyhalf and scrumhalf respectively.
