The most intriguing factor, though, is the return of van der Merwe, who takes his place alongside Darcy Graham and Paterson in the back three, for what will be just his 14th appearance of an injury-blighted season for both club and country.

A major summer of change is already underway at Hive Stadium, with new assistant coaches appointed amid a raft of new signings and re-signings. With all that in mind, it would not have been a huge surprise if either the club or the player – who is contracted at Edinburgh until next year’s World Cup – decided the end of the season was the right time to part ways. Everitt, though, believes van der Merwe still has a lot to offer and hopes two trouble-free run-outs against Dragons and then Connacht next week will allow the soon-to-turn 31-year-old to ease his way into things gently after a long rehab.

The head coach said: “I’m glad that he’s back on the field. It’s been a long time. He’s struggled with his ankle but he’s feeling really good. He had a great week of training this week and I’m hoping that he’ll bring energy to the group that has had a long season and obviously X-factor on the wing. And his finishing expertise will be brilliant for us if we can get the ball in his hands.

“Obviously he had that ankle surgery last year prior to the British and Irish Lions tour and he came back and didn’t quite reach the potential that everyone thought that he might do. So the ankle was problematic but not so much that he couldn’t play. And then obviously he re-injured it again in the Six Nations. So we were able to give him time off so that he could do rehab and obviously we gave him enough time so that he can hit the ground running on Saturday.

“We know that he’s world-class when he’s at his best. He hasn’t been happy with his performances and obviously playing at the back of the mind is an ankle niggle that you carry with you. And we all know that rugby players are better when they’re 100% confident with their bodies. Obviously, these next two games are going to be vital to see where he’s at. He’s got a lot of competition in the Scottish team, as we know.

“There were players that were picked ahead of him in the Six Nations. But Duhan at his best is one of the best in the world so hopefully he can hit the ground running on Saturday and build up momentum into the next game against Connacht, which would put him into position to be able to be selected for the summer tour. I think everyone would want to represent their country, so [If he is selected for Scotland for the inaugural Nations Championship] I’d say it’s a good thing.”

Edinburgh haven’t won away from home since scraping past Benetton 15-14 on January 3 but Everit believes there is a renewed determination among the group to finish the season with two further wins.

“It was a good Benetton team so we take confidence out of that. Dragons away is going to be no easier. We also know that we’ve got to be up more for those games than we are at home when we’ve got the crowd behind us. When you’re away, you have no one. The players are aware of that but you’ll see by the performance on the weekend that there definitely is a change of attitude.”

Edinburgh (versus Dragons at Rodney Parade on Saturday, kick-off 7.45pm): H Paterson; D Graham, M Tuipulotu, F Thomson, D van der Merwe; R Thompson, H Patterson; P Schoeman, E Ashman, O Blyth-Lafferty, C Hunter-Hill, G Gilchrist ©, G Young, F Douglas, T Currie. Replacements: D Richardson, B Venter, P Hill, M Sykes, L McConnell, M Bradbury, C Shiel, P O’Conor.

Unavailable:  Charlie McCaig (knee), Rhys Litterick (achilles), Rob Carmichael (wrist), Luke Crosbie (hamstring), Sam Skinner (hamstring), Paddy Harrison (back), Conor McAlpine (hamstring), Wes Goosen (hand), Matt Currie (hamstring), Mikey Jones (bicep), Ben Muncaster (ankle), James Lang (ankle), D’arcy Rae (calf), Connor Boyle (concussion), Ben Vellacott (shoulder)