Edinburgh change eight for Ulster semi-final showdown
Grant Gilchrist makes his 150th appearance as Edinburgh welcome back a cohort of internationalists for their PRO14 semi-final against Ulster.
The inclusion of Gilchrist is one of eight changes the capital side make as Scotland stars Mark Bennett, Rory Sutherland, Stuart McInally, WP Nel and Ben Toolis all return to the starting XV for Saturday’s game at Murrayfield.
Experienced half-back pairing Jaco van der Walt and Nic Groom also get the nod for Edinburgh’s first-ever PRO14 semi-final appearance.
An unchanged back-three sees Blair Kinghorn continue at full-back alongside wing duo Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe.
Chris Dean retains his place in midfield and is paired with 22-times capped centre Bennett, while the aforementioned pairing of Groom and Van der Walt get the nod at half-back.
An all-Scotland front-row sees captain McInally pack down alongside prop duo Sutherland and Nel, while Toolis returns from injury to partner Gilchrist – who becomes only the eighth player in club history to reach 150 appearances – in the second-row.
Fijian international number eight Viliame Mata anchors an unaltered back-row that sees flankers Magnus Bradbury and Hamish Watson complete the pack.
Elsewhere, Scotland star Jamie Ritchie returns from injury and is named among the replacements for the post-season clash.
Meanwhile, Ulster fly-half Billy Burns will return to captain the side this weekend, and is one of three changes from last week’s meeting with Leinster.
Jacob Stockdale will once again take the 15 jersey, with wingers Rob Lyttle and Louis Ludik completing the starting back three. For the third game in succession, James Hume and Stuart McCloskey will pair up in midfield. John Cooney will line up alongside Burns in the half-back positions.
The front-row is unchanged from the game against Leinster, with Rob Herring retaining his starting berth at hooker, as well as Eric O’Sullivan and Tom O’Toole at loosehead and tighthead props respectively. Alan O’Connor is the only change to the pack and comes in to join Sam Carter in the second-row. Matthew Rea and Jordi Murphy have been named as the flankers with Marcell Coetzee packing down at number eight.
John Andrew, Jack McGrath, Marty Moore, Kieran Treadwell and Sean Reidy provide the forward options off the bench, while Alby Mathewson, Ian Madigan and Michael Lowry are the backline reinforcements.
The teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Mike Willemse, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Andrew Davidson, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Nathan Chamberlain, 23 George Taylor
Ulster: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Rob Lyttle, 10 Billy Burns (c), 9 John Cooney, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Matthew Rea, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Eric O’Sullivan
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 Alby Mathewson, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Michael Lowry
Venue: BT Murrayfield
Kick-off: 19:35 BST
Referee: Frank Murphy
Assistant referees: Mike Adamson, Sam Grove-White
TMO: Neil Patterson