Edinburgh Rugby will be without Duhan ver der Merwe as they bid to make history in South Africa by winning a knockout tie in the United Rugby Championship for the first time. The Scotland and Lions winger travelled to Pretoria with the squad but is still not fit enough to play and has been left out of the match-day 23 for the play-off quarter-final against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld. Van der Merwe, 30, has not featured since March due to an ankle injury but would be fit for the semi-finals should Edinburgh progress. Saturday’s match with the Bulls also comes too soon for club co-captain Grant Gilchrist who remains sidelined with a hamstring problem and Edinburgh are also without Glen Young who has not made the trip to Pretoria after the recent birth of his child. It leaves them short of cover in the second row where Sam Skinner and Marshall Sykes will start for the third game in a row. There is no lock forward on the bench and Magnus Bradbury, who captains the side and starts at No 8, is the designated back-up should anything happen to Skinner or Sykes. The better news for Edinburgh is the return of the vastly experienced Jamie Ritchie who starts for the first time since sustaining a concussion against Bath in the Challenge Cup semi-finals at the start of May. He comes into the team at six, with Ben Muncaster moving to the bench in the only change to the starting side which beat Ulster to clinch a place in the top eight. It’s the first time Edinburgh have made the play-offs since 2022, the URC’s inaugural season, when they lost to the Stormers in the quarter-finals in Cape Town. They have returned to South Africa this week and been urged by head coach Sean Everitt to go one better to set up a semi-final against either the Sharks or Munster. “Winning a URC knockout match on the road would be a significant achievement for this club,” said Everitt. “It's something we've been working towards, and the opportunity to make history is a powerful driver for us. We've got a fantastic group of players who are hungry for success, and we're determined to put in a performance that reflects the ambition of Edinburgh Rugby.” They will have to do it without van der Merwe but Everitt is confident Harry Paterson can be a more than adequate replacement on the left wing for Scotland’s record try-scorer who is in South Africa with the Edinburgh squad. “Duhan has been back training with us here in Pretoria this week, and he's feeling good,” said Everitt. “However, he's probably still a few days away from being ready to return to full match action. “There's a possibility of a semi-final in Durban so bringing him along made sense. We'd rather have a 100 per cent fit Duhan next week. He's come through the week well, so physically he's good. Obviously, just lacking a bit of match fitness.” Edinburgh have included the inexperienced Conor McAlpine and Liam McConnell on the bench to cover scrum-half and the back row, respectively. McAlpine has made only one previous appearance in Edinburgh’s first team and McConnell has made three, and Everitt described it as an exciting opportunity for the pair. The Edinburgh coach is a good friend of his Bulls counterpart, Jake White, and the pair are planning to have a barbecue together on the eve of the match. “He has invited me to his place,” said Everitt. “We won't be talking rugby. It's more of a catch-up and to put some meat on the braai and watch a bit of rugby. But we won't be talking tactics to each other.”