Leinster’s second successive trip to Scotland sees them return to the scene of last May’s GUINNESS PRO12 final defeat, as they bid to make it two wins out of three in the current campaign.
GUINNESS PRO12: Friday, September 16
EDINBURGH (7th) v LEINSTER (6th), BT Murrayfield, 7.35pm (live TG4/BBC ALBA)
Team News: Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has made a number of changes to the team that went to Glasgow Warriors last Saturday and further alterations on the replacements bench.
Cullen also confirmed that Rob Kearney’s scan on Monday had come back relatively positive and that the 30-year-old full-back has not picked up a long term injury. He has, though, suffered a grade two PCL knee injury which will keep him sidelined for the next few rounds of the PRO12. Rehabilitation has already commenced and he will be assessed again in a few weeks.
With Kearney out, Zane Kirchner, a try scorer last week in Glasgow, moves to full-back with Dave Kearney continuing on the left wing. Isa Nacewa makes his first appearance of the campaign on the right wing and will captain the province.
It will also be his 150th appearance for Leinster since his debut in September 2008 against Cardiff Blues. Nacewa has scored 33 tries and 486 points for Leinster in his 149 games to date.
Noel Reid and Garry Ringrose are again named in the centre for the third time in as many games, while Jamison Gibson Park makes his first start in Leinster colours at scrum half with Joey Carbery outside him.
In the pack, there are a number of alterations as a number of returning Ireland internationals make their first starts of the season.
Jack McGrath and Sean Cronin come into the front row alongside Mike Ross to form a very experienced unit. They have 345 Leinster and 146 Ireland caps between them.
In the second row Devin Toner slots back in to partner Mike McCarthy, while in the back row Jamie Heaslip scrums down at number 8 for the first time this season with Jordi Murphy at blindside flanker and Dan Leavy at openside.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh prop Willem ‘WP’ Nel will lead the team out as the club’s 24th centurion against Leinster at the home of Scottish Rugby.
The 15-times capped Scotland tighthead, who signed for the capital outfit ahead of the 2012/13 season, has started 83 of his 99 appearances to date, scoring 75 points through 15 tries.
Nel lines up in a settled Edinburgh side with head coach Alan Solomons making three changes – two personnel and one positional – to the team that defeated Scarlets 20-9 last weekend.
Tongan international Viliami Fihaki will make his competitive debut for the club at number 8 in place of the rested Jamie Ritchie, prompting a switch to the blindside for young back rower Magnus Bradbury.
Hamish Watson replaces fellow openside John Hardie who continues his graduated return-to-play protocols following a head knock sustained against the Welshmen.
Glenn Bryce continues at full-back with last week’s try scorer, Michael Allen, and Tom Brown remaining on the wings. Sasa Tofilau makes his third competitive start for Edinburgh at outside centre with Phil Burleigh keeping a hold of the number 12 shirt.
Duncan Weir, last week’s man-of-the-match, and Nathan Fowles continue to build their half-back partnership as they make their third consecutive start together. Centurion Nel, Ross Ford and Rory Sutherland form the front row with captain Grant Gilchrist and Ben Toolis starting once again at lock.
EDINBURGH: Glenn Bryce; Michael Allen, Sasa Tofilau, Phil Burleigh, Tom Brown; Duncan Weir, Nathan Fowles; Rory Sutherland, Ross Ford, WP Nel, Ben Toolis, Grant Gilchrist (capt), Magnus Bradbury, Hamish Watson, Viliami Fihaki.
Replacements: Stuart McInally, Allan Dell, Kevin Bryce, Fraser McKenzie, Cornell du Preez, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Solomoni Rasolea, Blair Kinghorn.
LEINSTER: Zane Kirchner; Isa Nacewa (capt), Garry Ringrose, Noel Reid, Dave Kearney; Joey Carbery, Jamison Gibson Park; Jack McGrath, Sean Cronin, Mike Ross, Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy, Jordi Murphy, Dan Leavy, Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: Bryan Byrne, Cian Healy, Tadhg Furlong, Ross Molony, Josh van der Flier, Luke McGrath, Cathal Marsh, Rory O’Loughlin.
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Emanuele Tomo (Italy), Bob Nevins (Scotland)
Television Match Official: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Edinburgh to win: 7/5; Draw: 20/1; Leinster to win: 8/13
Pre-Match Quotes: Fergus McFadden (Leinster) – “Looking at the tries (we conceded against Glasgow) it was disappointing because I felt they didn’t have to play that much rugby to run in 21 points in the second 40 minutes. That again is a lesson for us. Good teams punish you.
“As gutting as it was for the group to come away from Glasgow with nothing to show from the massive effort, I feel like there were some good lessons learned from the game. It’s not losing if you are learning and we certainly have learnt a lot from the areas that went wrong last week. We follow that up with another tough away fixture against Edinburgh.
“We’ve players returning from Ireland duty to strengthen the deck so we will be fully focused on going back to Scotland but this time we’re planning on coming away with the win. It’s a massive challenge but we are looking to right the wrongs from last week.”
Nathan Fowles (Edinburgh) – “Leinster will be pretty disappointed with the way their game ended last week against Glasgow, and they’ll likely be a wounded animal. We said before the Scarlets that home games are a non-negotiable for us. If you want to be a top four side you have to win at home, so it’s about this week and building on what we started last week.
“We’ve got to raise our performance again. Last week in the last 10 miuntes there was no way the Scarlets were crossing the line, and that’s the attitude we need.
“We brought that in defence last week, but it needs to be for the whole 80 minutes, so that’ll be the attitude going into Leinster; we build on our defence and attack – we’ve got the structures there and it will look after itself.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Edinburgh – Points: Duncan Weir 21; Tries: Solomoni Rasolea, Mike Allen, Magnus Bradbury 1 each; Leinster – Points: Joey Carbery 20; Tries: Joey Carbery 2
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Edinburgh – Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, 4 Points; L 34-16 v Cardiff Blues (away), W 20-9 v Scarlets (home); Leinster – Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, 4 points; W 20-8 v Benetton Treviso (home), L 33-25 v Glasgow Warriors (away)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, December 20, 2013 – Edinburgh 11 Leinster 6, Murrayfield
Saturday, May 10, 2014 – Leinster 15 Edinburgh 13, the RDS
Friday, October 31, 2014 – Leinster 33 Edinburgh 8, the RDS
Saturday, May 16, 2015 – Edinburgh 23 Leinster 36, BT Murrayfield
Friday, September 4, 2015 – Edinburgh 16 Leinster 9, Meggetland
Friday, April 15, 2016 – Leinster 30 Edinburgh 23, the RDS
MATCH FACTS:
– Edinburgh’s 20-9 victory over the Scarlets at BT Murrayfield last Friday ended a four-match losing run in the GUINNESS PRO12
– The Scotsmen have lost their last six games against Irish provinces since beating Ulster 16-10 at BT Murrayfield last October
– Leinster’s last nine regular season fixtures in the PRO12 have all been won by the home side on the day, while their most recent win on the road came on a visit to Zebre last February
– Leinster have won only once in Scotland since January 2013: 36-23 against Edinburgh in May 2015
– The Leinstermen’s only defeat to Edinburgh in their last five fixtures was 16-9 at Meggetland in September 2015
This website uses cookies.
Read More