PRO14 Round 18: Edinburgh v Leinster

Date: Fri 22nd March 2019
KO: 19:35
Venue: BT Murrayfield

Richard Cockerill has a host of big names available this weekend as PRO14 action resumes briefly before the European knockout stages.

The Edinburgh coach doesn’t have the luxury of resting players as every league point is now vital to their playoff chances, but in some cases such as the returning Matt Scott and John Barclay, a chance to blow off the cobwebs will be welcome. For Barclay it will be his first game for Edinburgh.

Hamish Watson, Darcy Graham, WP Nel and Ben Toolis are also starters, fresh from retaining the Calcutta Cup.

As a result of the sudden riches in the back row, the downside for (potential) Scotland players in terms of gametime is that there’s no room in the squad for the likes of Jamie Ritchie or Luke Crosbie, with Magnus Bradbury only making the bench after a superb second half for Scotland.

Still, for Cockerill it’s a nice choice to have.

Leinster aren’t at full strength for this one possibly also with one eye on Europe but should never be taken lightly.

Edinburgh: Dougie Fife, Darcy Graham, James Johnstone, Matt Scott, Duhan van der Merwe, Jaco van der Walt, Henry Pyrgos (capt); Pierre Schoeman, Ross Ford, Willem Nel, Fraser McKenzie, Ben Toolis, John Barclay, Hamish Watson, Viliame Mata.
Replacements: Cameron Fenton, Allan Dell, Simon Berghan, Callum Hunter-Hill, Magnus Bradbury, Charlie Shiel, Simon Hickey, Chris Dean.

Unavailable due to injury: Lewis Carmichael; David Cherry; Luke Hamilton; Blair Kinghorn

Leinster Rugby: Ciaran Frawley, Fergus McFadden, Noel Reid, Joe Tomane, Barry Daly, Ross Byrne, Luke McGrath, Ed Byrne, Sean Cronin, Michael Bent, Josh Murphy, Mick Kearney, Rhys Ruddock, Dan Leavy, Max Deegan.
Replacements: Bryan Byrne, Jack McGrath, Andrew Porter, Jack Dunne, Oisin Dowling, Nick McCarthy, Jimmy O’Brien, Conor O’Brien.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

The post PRO14 Round 18: Edinburgh v Leinster appeared first on Scottish Rugby Blog.