by The Feral Goat on Thu Apr 06, 2017 12:18 pm
Acting Head Coach Duncan Hodge has made six changes to his starting Edinburgh Rugby side for tomorrow night’s Guinness PRO12 clash against Connacht at Myreside (kick-off 7.35pm) – live on BBC ALBA.
Nathan Fowles starts at scrum-half
Four of the amendments are made in the back division, with two changes named in the starting pack.
Glenn Bryce starts at full-back in place of Blair Kinghorn, who is currently on duty with Scotland 7s. Another change of personnel in the back-three sees Rory Scholes taking up a spot on the left-wing.
It’s all change at half-back with Nathan Fowles and Duncan Weir replacing Sam Hidalgo-Clyne and Jason Tovey respectively.
Ben Toolis has recovered from a back injury and is named in the second-row where he will be joined by fellow incomer Fraser McKenzie.
Stuart McInally will make his 100th appearance for the club if he is to be called upon from the bench.
Hodge said:
“We played a lot of good rugby last week, but once again a lack of consistency and high error count marred our ability to dominate the game for long periods. We’re continuing to work hard on cutting out such costly mistakes as we search for a full 80-minute showing.
“We want to provide a good performance for our home support, and need the basics of our game to be in order with an attitude and intensity to match. That will give us the platform we need, and help us control the game.
“Connacht will be hungry to bounce back from their defeat to Zebre, but we hold home advantage and want to make that count tomorrow night.
“Finally, congratulations to Stuart on reaching the cap milestone. He’s a great player, a real club man and a brilliant guy to have around the squad.”
Damien Hoyland retains his spot on the right wing to join Bryce and Scholes in the back-three.
Phil Burleigh and Chris Dean continue as the midfield partnership.
Ross Ford will again captain the side from hooker, and is joined in the front-row by Murray McCallum and Simon Berghan.
Viliame Mata, Hamish Watson and Cornell du Preez form the back-row trio.
Players unavailable due to injury: Magnus Bradbury (knee), Jack Cosgrove (ankle), Allan Dell (concussion), Alasdair Dickinson (foot), John Hardie (knee), Sean Kennedy (foot), Nasi Manu (shoulder), WP Nel (neck), Rory Sutherland (groin), Jason Tovey (groin)
Edinburgh Rugby team to play Connacht at Myreside in the Guinness PRO12 tomorrow (Friday 7 April, kick-off 7.35pm) – live on BBC ALBA.
15. Glenn Bryce
14. Damien Hoyland
13. Chris Dean
12. Phil Burleigh
11. Rory Scholes
10. Duncan Weir
9. Nathan Fowles
1. Murray McCallum
2. Ross Ford CAPTAIN
3. Simon Berghan
4. Fraser McKenzie
5. Ben Toolis
6. Viliame Mata
7. Hamish Watson
8. Cornell du Preez
Replacements
16. Stuart McInally
17. Derrick Appiah
18. Kevin Bryce
19. Grant Gilchrist
20. Jamie Ritchie
21. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne
22. Tom Brown
23. Junior Rasolea