The squads have been named for Saturday evening’s 1872 Cup match between Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors.
So, who could be the key men for the hosts at BT Murrayfield as they look for vital Guinness PRO14 points?
Three to watch
Darcy Graham
The 21-year-old diminutive winger has had a great 2018 to date.
He finished last season flying with the Scotland Sevens season and, after recovering from an injury sustained in pre-season has forced his way into Richard Cockerill’s first choice XV ahead of the likes of Dougie Fife and Tom Brown.
His ‘little and large’ double act with Duhan van der Merwe on the other wing serves Edinburgh well while Graham loves getting off of his wing to find the ball.
Ben Toolis
The Australian-born second-row has come a long way since he first signed for the club back in 2013 alongside twin brother Alex.
Growing up he was a volleyball player and it took Toolis a couple of seasons to adapt to top level rugby, but since then he has been flying.
This will be his 100th outing for Edinburgh and his partnership with Grant Gilchrist has been one of the successes of the Cockerill era.
Like Glasgow’s Rob Harley, a very consistent performer.
Luke Hamilton
A lot of the focus surrounding Edinburgh’s back-row will be on Hamish Watson and ‘Big Bill’ Mata, rightly so because they are world class, but Hamilton has a big part to play in this one.
With Magnus Bradbury and Jamie Ritchie injured Hamilton will wear six in this game and he comes into it having made an amazing 17 carries in the last round of league action.
The 26-year-old also played well last weekend in the Heineken Champions Cup triumph at Newcastle.
Edinburgh Rugby: Blair Kinghorn; Darcy Graham, James Johnstone, Chris Dean, Duhan van der Merwe; Jaco van der Walt, Henry Pyrgos; Pierre Schoeman, Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Ben Toolis, Grant Gilchrist, Luke Hamilton, Hamish Watson, Viliame Mata. Replacements: Dave Cherry, Allan Dell, Pietro Ceccerelli, Callum Hunter-Hill, Luke Crosbie, Nathan Fowles, Simon Hickey, Juan Pablo Socino.
Thanks to David Gibson/FOTOSPORT for the match images
Scottish Rugby 101 is a compendium of fascinating facts, quotes, stats, stories, personalities and trivia – perfect for all fans of Scottish rugby.
From the very first Test match in 1871 all the way through to the present day, Scottish rugby’s rich history is distilled into 101 facts, stats and stories. This entertaining volume is an instructive, if sometimes irreverent – but always affectionate – guide to some of the groundbreaking firsts, controversies, innovations, characters, achievements and disasters that have shaped the game north of the border. Whether an expert or a novice, this is the perfect companion for those who follow Scotland’s exploits on the field (and may serve as a handy distraction when things inevitably start to go pear-shaped).
Peter Burns is the author of When Lions Roared: The Lions, The All Blacks and the Epic Tour of 1971; Behind the Thistle: Playing Rugby for Scotland; White Gold: England’s Journey to World Cup Glory and Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions. It’s fair to say he likes rugby.
https://mybooksource.com/scottish-rugby-101-pb.html
