Return: Stuart Hogg
Edinburgh Rugby have made six changes for the second leg of the 1872 Cup against Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Five of the six changes made have been promoted from the bench from last weekend's loss, four of which are enforced through injury.
The introduction of 22-year-old wing Dougie Fife for the injured Lee Jones (ribs) is the only alteration to the back-line, which will once again feature half-backs Greig Laidlaw and last weekend's try-scorer Piers Francis, a midfield partnership of James King and Matt Scott, as well as Greig Tonks and Tim Visser in the back three.
Visser is second only to Ulsterman Tommy Bowe in the league's all-time top try-scoring charts, and would undoubtedly welcome the opportunity to celebrate the landmark at the expense of the club's biggest rivals.
Allan Jacobsen, who was originally named to start in Scotstoun but withdrawn due to illness on the day, will start as one third of an all-new front-row as he, Andy Titterrell and Geoff Cross replace the injured John Yapp (knee), Ross Ford (shoulder) and Willem Nel, who will start on the bench if fit.
The ankle injury sustained by lock Izak van der Westhuizen sees him replaced by vice-captain Sean Cox, who reforms a familiar partnership with Grant Gilchrist in the second-row. Fiji captain Netani Talei is the last alteration to the team. He replaces Stuart McInally at number 8 to join Roddy Grant and David Denton in the back-row.
Meanwhile, Glasgow Warriors have made five changes from last week's starting line up as they travel to Murrayfield seeking a fourth successive 1872 Cup win against Edinburgh Rugby.
The Warriors take a nine-point advantage into the tie, with the silverware being decided on the total aggregate points. Gregor Townsend's side took league points and the upper hand in the 1872 with a 23-14 victory at Scotstoun Stadium last Friday night.
In the backs, Stuart Hogg returns to the starting line-up in the full back berth, while Henry Pyrgos is preferred to Niko Matawalu at scrum-half. DTH van der Merwe, who scored twice against Edinburgh last week, keeps his place alongside the rest of a potent attacking back-line.
The bulk of the changes have been made up front, with Josh Strauss set to enjoy his first outing in the famous encounter. The South African, who signed up for the Warriors in the summer, replaces Chris Fusaro in the back row.
Tom Ryder comes in for Tim Swinson in the boiler house with Scotland hooker Dougie Hall starting in place of Pat MacArthur.
Form: Edinburgh Rugby have lost their last three matches in all competitions, and have won just once at Murrayfield since September: 23-13 over Ospreys in the RaboDirect PRO12 on 23 November. Glasgow Warriors have the upper hand in the 1872 Cup double-header having won 23-14 at Scotstoun on Friday. That victory took the Warriors back into the playoff zone, whilst Warriors have also won three of their last four away games in the tournament. Edinburgh's only win in their last eight encounters with Glasgow was 28-17 at Murrayfield on 2 January 2011.
The teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Matt Scott, 12 James King, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Netani Talei, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 David Denton, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Andy Titterrell, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Lawrie, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Lewis Niven/Willem Nel, 19 Perry Parker, 20 Dimitri Basilaia, 21 Richie Rees, 22 Ben Atiga, 23 Sep Visser.
Glasgow: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Peter Horne, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Prygos, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Rob Harley, 6 Josh Strauss, 5 Al Kellock (c), 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Moray Low, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Pat Macarthur, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 German Araoz, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 James Eddie, 21 Niko Matawalu, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Graeme Morrison.
Date: Saturday, 29 December
Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 4:05
Referee:Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Andy Macpherson (Scotland), Adrian Graves (Scotland)
Television match official: Jim Yuille (Scotland)
Comments
admack says...
Agreed - Bradley has to go, he is sucking the life out of what was a young and inspiring squad. He rotates the team, in particular the pack far too frequently. Also he has brought in too many international "has been" players.
Posted 09:14 28th December 2012
atg77 says...
Playing a non-Scotland qualified player at fly half... when will Scottish rugby ever learn?
Posted 17:25 27th December 2012