Allan Jacobsen heads back to Edinburgh after being with the Scotland for the 6 Nations

Edinburgh Rugby have welcomed the return of nine front-line Scotland internationalists for this Friday’s PRO12 clash with Scarlets at Murrayfield Stadium (kick-off 7.35pm).

The players returned to training at the start of the week and have all been successfully re-integrated into the squad for the crucial match against a playoff-chasing Welsh outfit bolstered by the return of their Grand Slam winning colleagues.

A lot is at stake for the clubs who will tackle some of France’s finest in the last eight of European Cup competition the following weekend – Edinburgh against Toulouse at Murrayfield in the Heineken Cup and Scarlets against Brive in the Amlin.

Speaking on the players’ return, head coach Michael Bradley said: “It’s been great to have them back. They’re all quality players, so the biggest benefit has been the increased competition for places in the team, which has had a knock on effect on the quality and intensity of training.

“We’ve been working on re-emphasising our systems with the returning players in terms of how Edinburgh Rugby play in attack and defence. These are experienced professionals, they’re used to this process, and they have come through it well. There’s so much to play for because European knockout competition is just around the corner, so I expect Scarlets will travel strong. That, combined with a strong Edinburgh Rugby team, should make for a great match.”

Among the club’s returning internationalists are prop Allan Jacobsen and winger Lee Jones who missed Scotland’s final 6 Nations match through injury but have returned to full fitness for the match.

Jones’ return to start at wing sees Tom Brown move to full-back while Stuart McInally is selected at number 8 with Netani Talei rested as a precaution due a slight back strain.

Starting XV:
15 Tom Brown
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 Ross Rennie
8 Stuart McInally

Replacements:
16 Andrew Kelly
17 Kyle Traynor
18 Jack Gilding
19 Esteban Lozada
20 Roddy Grant
21 Chris Leck
22 Phil Godman
23 Jim Thompson

Unavailable through injury: Ben Cairns (knee), Robin Hislop (thumb), John Houston (neck strain), James King (groin), Steven Lawrie (knee), Steven Turnbull (ankle)