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Preview: Edinburgh v Munster

Thursday 04th September 2008

Out with the old: Paterson will be back in an Edinburgh shirt on Friday

Chris Paterson will start his first game of his second spell at Edinburgh on Friday when they take on Munster in the Magners League at Murrayfield.

Having spent last season at Gloucester, where he was never a regular in the side, Paterson returned to Scotland in the off-season and will start on the right wing on Friday. In doing so, Paterson will play in his 150th game for Edinburgh.

Head Coach Andy Robinson believes anything less than a victory will render their fine pre-season wins over Wasps and Bath meaningless.

"It is important on the back of all our pre-season work that we win at the weekend," Robinson said.

"A loss this weekend would make the pre-season friendly results pointless. So it is important that the guys who do have the experience and the talent really deliver.

"We are now facing our biggest test of the year so far because we are facing Munster.

"We didn't beat them last year and they play a tough brand of rugby. We need to be able to cope with the way they play as well as imposing our game-plan on them."

Injuries have meant Robinson has had to make a few changes, although he does welcome back Ben Gissing, who missed the win over Bath in order to attend the birth of his first child.

Meanwhile, Scotland international Matt Mustchin switches from second row to blindside flanker because Robinson believes his line-out skills and size will benefit the pack.

"The reason why we have decided to put Matt in the back row is to do with being able to deal with the new line-outs," Robinson added.

"We are looking to counter the threat that Munster have at the set-piece and it was important that we fielded our biggest pack."

Munster have named a side which features no less than seven Irish internationals, as well as former All Black Doug Howlett.

The front five is an all-Irish affair, with Donncha O'Callaghan and Paul O'Connell resuming their formidable partnership in the second row.

Peter Stringer will have to settle for a place on the bench as Tomas O'Leary gets the nod to start at half-back with Ronan O'Gara.

Form: Edinburgh concluded last season with three straight wins following a 14-23 defeat at the hands of Glasgow on 11 April. Munster are the only Irish side to have won at Murrayfield since season 2005/06, doing so twice in May 2007 and February 2008. Munster, the current European champions, have not lost in Scotland since a 13-24 reversal at Glasgow in the Magners League on 15 September 2006. Edinburgh's only win over Munster in their last nine encounters in all competitions was 21-10 at Thomond Park on 13 October 2006.

Prediction: Edinburgh are on the up and will feel they have what it takes to oust Munster. That said the Heineken Cup champions will be looking for a better season in the Magners League and should have enough firepower to see them home. Munster by 8

The Teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Chris Paterson, 13 Calum MacRae, 12 Nick De Luca, 11 Simon Webster, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Mike Blair (c), 8 Allister Hogg, 7 Alan MacDonald, 6 Matt Mustchin, 5 Ben Gissing, 4 Craig Hamilton, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Kelly, 17 Gavin Kerr, 18 Scott Newlands, 19 David Callam, 20 Greig Laidlaw, 21 Mark Robertson, 22 Andrew Turnbull.

Munster: 15 Doug Howlett, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Lifeimi Mafi, 12 Rua Tipoki, 11 Ian Dowling, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 David Wallace, 7 John O'Sullivan, 6 Donnacha Ryan, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Frederico Pucciariello, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Frankie Sheahan, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Justin Melck, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Paul Warwick, 22 Barry Murphy.

Date: Friday 5 September, 2008
Kick-off: 19:30 BST (18:30 GMT)
Venue: Murrayfield
Referee: James Jones (Wales)
Touch judges: Rob Dickson (Scotland), Alan Forrest (Scotland).
Television Match Official: Ian Ramage (Scotland).