Edinburgh have named nine players aged 23 or under in their squad that will take on the Ospreys on Friday.
A combination of injuries and international call-ups have handed highly-rated flanker Hamish Watson (21) his first start for the club after seven appearances off the bench in the PRO12.
Four of the nine youngsters will start the match: Harry Leonard (20) is promoted from the bench, while Dougie Fife (22), Stuart McInally (22) and Greig Tonks (23) retain their increasingly ever-present places at wing, back-row and full-back.
"A number of PRO12 clubs are tested to the limit at this time of the season, both with the attritional nature of the game in terms of injuries and with players selected to represent their country," said head coach Michael Bradley to the club website.
"Edinburgh Rugby has proven to be a fantastic breeding ground for talented young players, many of whom will represent Scotland this weekend, while the team picked to play Ospreys will showcase another group of gifted young players coming through who, with time and experience, will grow into hardened, quality individuals capable of delivering winning performances for this club."
More to follow...
Form: Ospreys only win in their last six matches in all competitions was 16-12 against table topping Ulster in the RaboDirect PRO12 on 8 February. The Welshmen have won their last six home games in the PRO12, but have not beaten a Scottish side this season. Edinburgh Rugby have not won since a trip to Connacht in the PRO12 on 1 December, but have at least managed a victory in Wales this season, beating Cardiff Blues 21-19 at the Arms Park on 7 September. Edinburgh beat Ospreys 23-13 when the two sides met at Murrayfield in round nine, but have not completed a league double over the Welshmen since season 2008/09.
The teams:
Ospreys: tbc
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Ben Atiga, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Harry Leonard, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Stuart McInally, 5 Sean Cox (capt), 4 Perry Parker, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Steven Lawrie, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Andy Titterrell, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Alex Allan, 19 Robert McAlpine, 20 Chris Leck, 21 Piers Francis, 22 Ben Cairns, 23 Tom Brown.
Date: Friday, February 22
Kick-off: 20:00
Venue: Liberty Stadium
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), Alan Jenkins (Wales)
Television match official: Paul Adams (Wales)
Comments
jontheref says...
Bearman and Ross Jones out, banned for 4 and 3 weeks.
Bizarrely, Bearman cannot play until two weeks after Jones?
Not arguing with the ban, as I did not see the incidents, but the different judiciaries are making fools of themselves, with the different bans for different competitions.
Seems you get a let, the higher the level of play!
Posted 13:09 21st February 2013