Where are Edinburgh going under Everitt?

Glasgow Warriors emerged from the festive derby double-header against Edinburgh in good spirits despite never hitting top gear.

A 24-12 win for Franco Smith's side at Hampden was followed by a 21-3 triumph at Murrayfield, keeping the 1872 Cup with the Warriors for the fourth straight year.

There is always a desire to hype up one of the oldest rivalries in rugby, but both legs barely registered on the excitement meter.

Across the two matches Glasgow carved out the requisite opportunities against a resolute Edinburgh defence, and it speaks volumes about the standards Smith has set that he bemoaned his team not taking a bonus-point win in the second leg, as they had a week before.

Edinburgh were once again left scouring for crumbs of comfort, but the reality is these two derby defeats have been a significant setback.

One question in particular has bubbled back to the surface – where are the capital side going under Sean Everitt?

Their statement Champions Cup win against Toulon three weeks ago seems a long way behind them. Everitt and his players spoke about building momentum after that brilliant win, but it has disappeared almost instantly.

The chance of backing up that result was fatally compromised by sending a weakened team to face Castres the following week. A 33-0 thumping ensued and Edinburgh went into matches against Glasgow in a familiar state – on the back foot.

If resting key players in the hope of some big performances against Glasgow was the masterplan then it has blown up in Everitt's face.

One is often left wondering what Edinburgh's game plan is and that is a worrying statement.

The attack is a long-standing issue and it's hard to detect any shape or patterns to their play that might even stretch, let alone cut open, defences.

There was a moment in the second half when the ball came out to lock Glen Young.

He turned and tried to throw a pass out the back, only to end up face-to-face with his team-mate Pierre Schoeman with the ball stuck in between them.

In a game low on memorable moments, it raised a smile, but it perfectly encapsulated the confusion at the heart of this Edinburgh team.

The number of handling errors was through the roof and it seemed indicative of a side lacking clarity on what they are meant to be doing.

Everitt's future is still unclear with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.

Scottish Rugby chief executive Alex Williamson stressed the importance of continuity when announcing contract extensions for Smith at Glasgow and Gregor Townsend with the national team, and it is telling that there is no word on whether he will be offered a new one.

The Toulon win demonstrated what this team is capable of, but the dreary play offered up in both legs of the 1872 Cup showed that the club's inconsistent nature is still prevalent.

This is not just an Everitt problem.

A succession of coaches – from Alan Solomons to Richard Cockerill to Mike Blair and plenty before – have all tried and failed to turn Edinburgh into proper contenders.

Cockerill got a tune out of them for a while, Blair too more fleetingly, but there always seems to be a return to factory settings for Edinburgh sooner rather than later.

Everitt has had his moments too, with a positive second half to last season delivering a United Rugby Championship quarter-final and a Challenge Cup semi-final.

That should have been the springboard to a more positive start to this season, but at the end of the calendar year Edinburgh are 11th place in the league and facing another uphill battle to get into the end-of-season play-offs.

Glasgow will be there as they always are, having set a standard that drives them towards the top end every season.

What Edinburgh would give for such a foundation in the capital.

They have been searching for it for an age, but seem no closer to finding the answers.