Luke Crosbie in Edinburgh return against French side who ‘don’t travel well’ but have a conductor at 10

Bayonne have lost 10 out of 10 on the road in the Top 14 this season but did manage to draw with Munster in Limerick in the Champions Cup. They also lost at home to Glasgow Warriors in the top-tier tournament and dropped into the Challenge Cup where they will come up against an Edinburgh side looking to bounce back from two defeats in South Africa in the URC.

Everitt thought his side acquitted themselves reasonably well against the Stormers and Sharks but welcomed the return of the abrasive Crosbie.

“It’s a great game for him to come back in,” said the coach. “It might be a starting position or it might be on the bench, we’re not quite sure at the moment. But he’ll certainly add some physicality to our side. I thought we did quite well in that area in South Africa. If you look at our collisions at the weekend against the Sharks, I thought our boys stood up really well against a pack who pride themselves on physicality.

“In saying all that, Luke was the first choice six in the Six Nations and we’ll always be happy to have him back.”

A win over Bayonne would likely send Edinburgh back to South Africa and a rematch with the Sharks in the quarter-final, if the latter can overcome Zebre in the last 16. It’s a slightly daunting prospect given they’ve just returned from Durban but Everitt isn’t looking beyond Saturday.

“Bayonne are a team who have done well in the Top 14,” he said. “They’re sitting mid-table. They’ve won most of the games at home, apart from the one on Sunday night against Toulon where they were well beaten. They will probably be disappointed with that performance because they gave away a lot of soft points.

“They have a big, physical pack and we will need to stop their momentum off the rucks. They carry a lot through their forwards then they have a very dangerous player in their 10, Camille Lopez. We call him the conductor. He organises their attack really well and has an array of attacking kicks, as well as the ability to move the ball quickly to the edges. He’s a guy we will have to keep our eyes on.

“We’ve seen that Bayonne can be beaten. Not only the Glasgow game, but if you look at the game against Toulon on Sunday night too. We also know they don’t travel well. I don’t think they’ve won a game on the road as yet so we’ve got to see this as a great opportunity to get into the last eight of the competition.”

Ali Price and Grant Gilchrist are available after missing the trip to South Africa but Everitt was unsure about Emiliano Boffelli who is still suffering from a nerve problem in his back.