Edinburgh Head coach Sean Everitt has urged up-and-coming scrum-half Hector Patterson, who is reportedly being targeted by French and English clubs, to ignore talk of Scotland invites and focuses on maintaining his strong early season form.
The 21-year-old Borderer from Hawick only made his debut in April, starting the capital’s last four URC games of the season and scoring in his first two.
With Ben Vellacott ruled out after shoulder surgery until December and new signing Louie Chapman yet to arrive from New Zealand as he completes his NPC duties with Canterbury, Patterson will retain the No.9 jersey for Saturday’s trip to the game Zebras after playing a key role in Edinburgh’s first two wins of the URC season.
The former Scotland Under-20 international only signed a one-year deal when he agreed his first professional deal with England’s PREM and France’s Top 14 clubs are already reportedly monitoring his impressive progress.
Patterson, whose father Derrick won two caps for Scotland as a scrum-half in the mid-1990s, is also eligible for England through his grandparents, making him a more attractive proposition for clubs south of the border.
“To be honest, we haven’t had any formal conversations about it; I believe it’s all rumor so far,” Everitt said.
“Hector has work to do. He has to focus on his performances. He had four URC games last year and has had two so far, so there is a lot of growing to do.”
“Obviously, we want to keep Hector in Edinburgh, but I’m not aware of the opportunities he has elsewhere.”
With Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend set to finalize his squad soon for next month Nations Championship matches against New Zealand, Australia and Japan, there was also speculation that Patterson could receive an early senior call-up.
But Everitt said: “I think Hector has got to understand where he is in the pecking order. You’ve got Ben White, you’ve got Jamie Dobie and you’ve got Ali Price playing in France and George Horne is playing well in Glasgow.
“There’s always going to be work for the youngsters when they come through. It’s about sticking to the task and making sure they work on their fundamentals and become consistent in their game.”
Everitt also addressed reports that Scotland-Fijian winger Malelele Satala, who has impressed in the absence of injured stars Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe, is being monitored by several PREM clubs, including Bristol and Exeter, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
“We would love to keep Mala at Edinburgh Rugby,” said the South African. “I can’t comment on what’s going on there; there are all kinds of rumors that get spread when a certain individual is playing well.
“Our youngsters are on a growth path. We’ve given them a pathway at the club so they can expose themselves at the highest level. The big thing for us is that they’ve taken their opportunities really well when they’ve been given those opportunities.”
“But it’s up to them to stay on task and make sure they improve week in week out and put in consistent performances. It’s very difficult to judge a player after one or two good games in an Edinburgh shirt. They have to do that for six weeks in a row.”
Everitt also said there had been no talks yet about a possible contract extension for fly-half James Grayson, who has made a strong start after arriving from Japan on a one-year contract this summer.
“I’m sure that conversation will take place in the near future,” he added. “We’ve only got two games but he’s impressed us and he’s been really good in the group and shown good leadership. The team is looking at him in the direction, which is great for us.”
After starting the season with 17 players on the injured list, Everitt welcomes two new Scotland internationals, plus center Moses Tuipulotu, on the trip to Parma.
Ewan Ashman has shaken off an adductor problem to start at the side, with the in-form Harris Morris dropped to the bench and Jerry Blyth-Lafferty – a key player in last week’s win over the Stormers – from the 23, while Scotland’s six-man Marshall Sykes will return from the bench.
“It’s great to have these older guys coming back, but they have to realize that the young guys that have played the last few weeks have played well and they have to step up,” Everitt said.
“That’s the beauty of growing your team. There will be headaches. But we can’t ignore that Ewan Ashman is probably the best whore Scotland has at the moment – he’s a British and Irish lion. And Jerry will certainly get another chance.”
“It’s great to have Marshall back. He had a disrupted season with injury last year. He looks really good and he’s fit. And he knows he’s going to have to step up after Euan McVie’s two cameos off the bench.”
Tuipulotu, meanwhile, takes over for Kienan Higgins at inside center after recovering from a head knock suffered in pre-season.
It could also be the debut for 20-year-old academy loosehead Jamie Stewart, with Alec Hepburn sidelined by concussion.
Everitt also gave an update on two other Scotland internationals who are currently sidelined with injury.
Hooker/flanker Dylan Richardson had a “minor procedure” on a groin problem that will keep him out until the November international deadline, while hard-throwing D’arcy Rae, who started five Tests for Scotland last season, looks unlikely to feature for his country next month as he awaits further expert opinion on back and calf issues.
“D’arcy has more scans tomorrow to determine the way forward for his injury,” Everitt said. “Hopefully (he doesn’t need surgery). It would be a last resort.”
Edinburgh have failed to win in their last two visits to Parma – a 25-25 draw in April 2025 and a 31-28 defeat on the opening day of last term – and were also beaten at home to the Italians in February 2025.
“We had a meeting about it on Monday,” Everitt added. “One of the groups came up with the word ‘complacent’, but you can never be complacent against a team you’ve only beaten once in four outings over the last few years.”
Edinburgh XV: 15 Piers O’Connor; 14 Malelili Satala, 13 Matt Currie (co-host), 12 Mosese Tuipulotu, 11 Geordie Gwynn; 10 James Grayson, 9 Hector Patterson; 1 Pierre Schoeman, 2 Ewan Ashman, 3 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 4 Callum Hunter-Hill, 5 Glen Young, 6 Liam McConnell, 7 Freddy Douglas, 8 Magnus Bradbury (co-captain).
Replacements: 16 Harris Morris, 17 Jamie Stewart, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Tom Currie, 21 Conor McAlpine, 22 Cammy Scott, 23 Rory McHaffie.
