Edinburgh v Scarlets: Teams
Edinburgh will be buoyed by the return of nine Scotland internationals for the visit of the Scarlets on Friday.
Last Updated: 29/03/12 1:48pm
Edinburgh will be buoyed by the return of nine Scotland internationals for the visit of the Scarlets on Friday.
Lee Jones, Nick De Luca, Greig Laidlaw, Mike Blair, Ross Rennie, David Denton, Geoff Cross, Ross Ford and Allan Jacobsen all come straight back into the side having missed out due to their RBS Six Nations commitments.
"It's been great to have them back," said coach Michael Bradley.
"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 are a couple of positional switches too, with Tom Brown moving to full-back and Stuart McInally selected at No.8 with Netani Talei.
The Scarlets will look to continue their push for the play-offs when they travel to Murrayfield.
Intense
Wales internationals George North, Jon Davies, Rhys Priestland and Matthew Rees all return to the starting XV, with call-ups for Kieran Murphy and Sione Timani.
"This is another very big game for us and will be very intense," said coach Nigel Davies.
"We know Edinburgh and their returning Scottish internationals will be desperate to win after their recent run of form.
"We'll be coming up against a very focused side on their home turf and know the threat they pose - you don't get to a quarter-final in the Heineken Cup without knowing how to win matches."
Edinburgh: 15 Tom Brown, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Laidlaw (capt), 9 Mike Blair, 8 Stuart McInally, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 David Denton, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
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.
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Jon Davies, 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Kieran Murphy, 7 Johnathan Edwards, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Sione Timani, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Matthew Rees (capt), 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Phil John, 18 Peter Edwards, 19 Damian Welch, 20 Mat Gilbert, 21 Liam Davies, 22 Stephen Jones, 23 Sean Lamont.