Preview: Edinburgh v Leinster

Edinburgh have made three changes, one positional, for their Magners League clash against Leinster at Murrayfield on Friday.

Edinburgh have made three changes, one positional, for Friday's Magners League clash against last season's runners-up Leinster at Murrayfield.

Argentine lock Esteban Lozada has recovered from the head knock he sustained against Munster and is restored to a second-row partnership with Scott MacLeod.

In the back-row, Ross Rennie returns at openside flanker with captain Roddy Grant switching to number eight as Netani Talei has a dead leg from last weekend's game against Ulster.

On the bench, international flanker Alan MacDonald could yet be involved in the match squad as he has made good progress from the hip injury he sustained in the opening league game at Cardiff.

Edinburgh head coach Rob Moffat reflected on the determination within the squad to post their opening league success of the season.

“I've said from the outset that there are quality teams in the Magners League and I don't think many teams will relish trips to Cardiff or Belfast this season,” he said.

“We have to approach the Leinster game with both determination and confidence. It's our job this weekend to re-establish winning form on our own patch. We've done some good things in periods during all our games so far but we've also done a few basic things poorly.”

The back division is unchanged from the Ulster game, meaning that full-back Chris Paterson, just six points away from reaching the 700 mark in the Magners League, is fit to resume.

Edinburgh have won two of their last three home matches against Leinster and Moffat is encouraging supporters to back his team on Friday.

“Traditionally both teams come to play an attractive brand of rugby in this fixture – we went over there at the end of last season and had secured the four try bonus point after 60 minutes – and it's important we give our fans something to get excited about on Friday,” he added.

Meanwhile, Leinster full-back Rob Kearney will make his 100th appearance for the province on Friday and will become the 17th Leinster player to reach that feat.

Kearney is named in a back-line which features seven Ireland internationals including Brian O'Driscoll and Jonathan Sexton, who makes his first appearance this season.

In the pack, skipper Shane Jennings forms a back-row partnership with Dominic Ryan and Stephen Keogh who starts at number eight, while second-row Devin Toner also makes his seasonal debut.

Isaac Boss, Jamie Heaslip and Cian Healy are all named amongst the replacements.

Form: Edinburgh slipped to an unwanted seventh straight Magners League defeat in Ulster on Friday evening. The Scotsmen have lost their last two home games against Ulster and Munster but have not lost three in a row in the Magners League since 2005/06. Leinster's only win in their last four games in the Magners League was 34-23 at home to the Blues in Round Two. The Leinstermen have lost their last four away matches since beating Munster 16-15 at Thomond Park on April 2. Edinburgh have beaten Leinster just once in their last six encounters in all competitions.

The teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Mark Robertson, 13 Ben Cairns, 12 Alex Grove, 11 Tim Visser, 10 David Blair, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Roddy Grant (c), 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Scott Newlands, 5 Scott MacLeod, 4 Esteban Lozada, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Kelly, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Jack Gilding, 19 Craig Hamilton, 20 Alan MacDonald/David Denton, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Tom Brown, 23 John Houston.

Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney 14 Shane Horgan 13 Brian O'Driscoll 12 Gordon D'Arcy 11 Luke Fitzgerald 10 Jonathan Sexton 9 Eoin Reddan 8 Stephen Keogh, 7 Shane Jennings (capt), 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Ed O'Donoghue, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Jason Harris-Wright, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Simon Shawe, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 Jamie Heaslip, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Isa Nacewa, 23 Eoin O'Malley.

Date: Friday, 24 September
Venue: Murrayfield
Kick-off: 19:05 BST
Referee: Tim Hayes (Wales)
Assistant referees: Iain Heard (Scotland), Bob Nevins (Scotland)
Television match official: Iain Ramage (Scotland)