MAGNUS Bradbury, Ben Vellacott and Jamie Hodgson have all been released by Scotland and have been named on the bench in the Edinburgh squad to play Glasgow tomorrow night. The starting 15 is similar to the one that enjoyed a big win over Connacht a fortnight ago, with only three changes.
Matt Currie comes in at centre instead of James Lang, who is ill; Jaco van der Walt returns at stand-off in place of Blair Kinghorn; and Harrison Courtney takes over at loosehead prop from Boan Venter. The replacements also include Luan de Bruin, who is in line to make his first appearance since January after completing his recuperation from injury.
“We’ve spoken this week about how important this game is for the club,” head coach Mike Blair said after announcing his matchday 23. “Firstly, in terms of the 1872 Cup – it’s an opportunity for silverware – but also in terms of the league. It’s incredibly tight between ourselves and Glasgow and we want to keep momentum going heading into the business end of the season.
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“We’ve also talked about the emotion of the game. There is a huge amount of history in this fixture, so it’s important our players let that emotion drive them and motivate them. At the same time, we’ve got to stay cool under pressure, as we’ll be playing away from home in front of a really passionate crowd.
“We’ve had a great week of training and preparation and we’re delighted to see some of our younger guys get an opportunity to play in such an important fixture. They’ll be desperate to represent this club and city come Friday night.”
Eight players have been retained by Scotland: Mark Bennett, Darcy Graham, Grant Gilchrist, Blair Kinghorn, Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Pierre Schoeman and Hamish Watson.
Another 11 are unavailable because of injury or illness: Lang, Rudi Brown, Jamie Campbell, Luke Crosbie, Nick Haining, Damien Hoyland, James Johnstone, Viliame Mata, Jamie Ritchie, Marshall Sykes and Ben Toolis.
Edinburgh (v Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun Stadium, Friday @ 7.35pm): H Immelman; R Moyano, M Currie, C Dean, E Boffelli; J van der Walt, H Pyrgos (captain); H Courtney, D Cherry, A Williams, P Phillips, G Young, B Muncaster, C Boyle, M Kunavula. Substitutes: A McBurney, B Venter, L de Bruin, J Hodgson, M Bradbury, B Vellacott, C Savala, C Hutchison.
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