Edinburgh team to face Glasgow Warriors

Aug 21 • General News, Guinness Pro14 • 985 Views • Comments Off on Edinburgh team to face Glasgow Warriors

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Summer signing Andrew Davidson makes his Edinburgh Rugby debut against his former team as the capital club face Glasgow Warriors at BT Murrayfield in the 1872 Cup decider this Saturday (22 August, kick-off 5.15pm) – live on Premier Sports.

The lock is one of two debutants named in the matchday 23 as former Scotland U20 stand-off Nathan Chamberlain is selected among the replacements.

Scotland star Stuart McInally skippers an Edinburgh line-up that includes nine internationalists in the starting XV.

With the inter-city derby series tied 1-1, the two sides return to Guinness PRO14 action for the first time since February, with the rivals last meeting ending 29-19 in Edinburgh’s favour in December 2019.

Richard Cockerill’s side need just a point to secure a Guinness PRO14 Semi-Final berth, but will be looking to claim inter-city bragging rights and lift the 1872 Cup for the third straight season.

Ahead of the encounter, Head Coach Richard Cockerill, said: “We’ve earned the right to be where we are and now we’ve got the opportunity to get into a Semi-Final, and if we get it right, we could earn a home Semi-Final.

“But we’ve got a long way to go to do that. Glasgow are a very good side with a very good squad. We’ve got to make sure that we have the consistency we’ve had this season. We’ve got the chance to see if we can hit the ground running and compete with the big boys.

“The derbies against Glasgow have always been pretty tight, and they swing on key moments in games. But we have a real group who believe what we’re doing and buy into what Edinburgh is about.”

Blair Kinghorn is named at fullback with Eroni Sau and Duhan van der Merwe – who leads the league in clean breaks, defenders beaten and metres gained – selected on opposite wings.

Scotland international centre Mark Bennett links up with Chris Dean in midfield, while vice-captain and scrum-half, Nic Groom, is paired with stand-off Jaco van der Walt at half-back.

An-all Scotland front-row sees captain McInally pack down alongside prop duo Rory Sutherland and WP Nel.

Debutant Davidson is joined in the second-row by 42-times capped Scotland lock, Grant Gilchrist.

Fijian international Viliame Mata is named at No.8 with Luke Crosbie and Hamish Watson selected at blindside and openside flanker respectively.

Edinburgh Rugby team to face Glasgow Warriors at BT Murrayfield in the Guinness PRO14 on Saturday 22 August (kick-off 5.15pm) – live on Premier Sports

Blair Kinghorn (87)
Eroni Sau (10)
Mark Bennett (36)
Chris Dean (88)
Duhan van der Merwe (57)
Jaco van der Walt (55)
Nic Groom (11)
Rory Sutherland (81)
Stuart McInally (142) CAPTAIN
WP Nel (139)
Andrew Davidson*
Grant Gilchrist (148)
Luke Crosbie (39)
Hamish Watson (107)
Viliame Mata (71)

Replacements: 16. Mike Willemse (18) 17. Pierre Schoeman (40) 18. Simon Berghan (78) 19. Jamie Hodgson (6) 20. Nick Haining (11) 21. Charlie Shiel (16) 22. Nathan Chamberlain* 23. George Taylor (20)

Unavailable due to injury: Lewis Carmichael, Fraser McKenzie, Ben Toolis, Jamie Ritchie, Henry Pyrgos, Magnus Bradbury, Darcy Graham

*Edinburgh Rugby debut

Edinburgh Guinness PRO14