Edimburgo – Mancano ormai poco meno di tre ore al debutto casalingo di Edinburgh Rugby, che tra le mura amiche del Myreside ospiterà i “nuovi” Dragons, prima e, finora, unica squadra sconfitta nell’allora Guinness PRO12 da quando i Gunners hanno cambiato casa.
Cockerill cambia cinque elementi rispetto al XV capace di andare a vincere a Cardiff all’esordio stagionale, con Robbie Fruean (che entra al posto di Junior Rasolea) che potrà così debuttare con la nuova maglia. L’ex Baby-Black agirà al centro in coppia con il confermato Chris Dean (autore di una delle due mete degli scozzesi) mentre Damien Hoyland sostituisce l’infortunato Dougie Fife sull’ala destra.
Michele Rizzo, che settimana scorsa era in panchina, parte titolare in prima linea al posto di Darryl Marfo mentre in seconda linea torna Ben Toolis. Il lock della nazionale scozzese agirà in coppia con Grant Gilchrist, che stasera entrerà nel club dei Centurion del club della Capitale scozzese. Ultimo cambio in terza linea, con Hamish Watson al posto di John Hardie.
Jason Tovey, grande ex di serata, parte dalla panchina. Kick off previsto alle 7.35pm, diretta tv in Scozia su BBC ALBA, commento sul nostro sito al termine del match.
“Training has been good this week and we took great confidence from getting the result in Cardiff. We’ve put in a lot of hard work in pre-season and I think we saw the rewards of that at the weekend,” ha detto Cockerill al sito ufficiale del Club.
“We’ve got to keep chipping away and keep building that confidence, culture and identity in what we’re doing. It was a good start for us, but we need to get it right again tomorrow night against the Dragons to make sure we keep collecting points – getting as many as we can, as early as we can.
“I expect energy from the guys who’ve come in. They’ve worked hard and got their opportunity to play. We’ve got a strong squad and we’ve got options in a lot of positions, so for the guys coming in, I want them to bring us energy, but I also want them to fight and try and earn a spot in this team.
“Myreside is a great stadium. The guys behind the scenes have put in a lot of work to get it ready and it’s a fantastic surface for the team to play on. When people come and watch us, they’ll walk away knowing that their team has put 100 per cent commitment into the Edinburgh shirt.”
Edinburgh Rugby: 15. Blair Kinghorn 14. Damien Hoyland 13. Chris Dean 12. Robbie Fruean 11. Jason Harries 10. Duncan Weir 9. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 1. Michele Rizzo 2. Stuart McInally 3. WP Nel 4. Ben Toolis 5. Grant Gilchrist 6. Jamie Ritchie 7. Hamish Watson 8. Magnus Bradbury (C)
Panchina: 16. Ross Ford 17. Darryl Marfo 18. Simon Berghan 19. Fraser McKenzie 20. Cornell du Preez 21. Nathan Fowles 22. Jason Tovey 23. Junior Rasolea
Dragons: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Tyler Morgan 12, Sam Beard, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Gavin Henson, 9 Charlie Davies; 1 Brok Harris, 2 Elliot Dee, 3 Leon Brown, 4 Rynard Landman, 5 Cory Hill (C), 6 James Thomas, 7 James Benjamin, 8 Harrison Keddie
Panchina: Rhys Buckley, Phil Price, Lloyd Fairbrother, Matthew Screech, Max Williams, Owain Leonard, Angus O’Brien, Adam Hughes.
Alba Ovale 