Ross Rennie remains the only change for Mike Bradley's side
Head coach Michael Bradley today announced one personnel change to Edinburgh Rugby’s starting side for Sunday’s decisive Heineken Cup clash with London Irish at Murrayfield (kick-off 3.15pm).
Back-row regular Roddy Grant’s replacement of Ross Rennie is the only change to the team that kept the club joint top of Pool 2 last weekend with a 27-24 win over Racing Metro at the Stade du Manoir (27-8).
The club go into Sunday’s match seeking a repeat of their Heineken Cup opener against the Irish Exiles in Reading (20-19) and a place in the last eight of Europe’s elite club rugby competition for the first time in eight years.
Head coach Michael Bradley, said: “This match is massive. It’s very exciting for everyone involved in the club who have supported us throughout the group stages and who have been fixated on this match since the final whistle in Paris.
“It’s a fantastic place for Edinburgh Rugby to be and we’ve had to work exceptionally hard in some of the most memorable matches in the club’s history to get to this point. Sunday’s match is the last obstacle to quarter-final qualification and will take another big performance from all the players to beat an impressive London Irish side that’s riding high in the English Premiership.”
The last and only time a Scottish side made the last eight was Edinburgh’s appearance in 2004, with three members of Sunday’s starting team targeting a return to the knockout rounds: full-back Chris Paterson, scrum-half Mike Blair and prop Allan Jacobsen.
The club are cranking up the off-field entertainment by recruiting samba bands, highland pipes and drums and hosting inflatable ‘zorb’ ball races for supporters at half-time.
Edinburgh starting XV:
15 Chris Paterson
14 Lee Jones
13 Nick De Luca
12 Matt Scott
11 Tim Visser
10 Greig Laidlaw (C)
9 Mike Blair
1 Allan Jacobsen
2 Ross Ford
3 Geoff Cross
4 Grant Gilchrist
5 Sean Cox
6 David Denton
7 Roddy Grant
8 Netani Talei
Replacements:
16 Alun Walker
17 Kyle Traynor
18 Jack Gilding
19 Esteban Lozada
20 Stuart McInally
21 Phil Godman
22 John Houston
23 Tom Brown
Not available through injury:
Ben Cairns (knee),
James King (groin),
Steven Lawrie (knee),
Steven Turnbull (ankle)