Match Preview: Edinburgh Rugby Vs Scarlets
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Scotland duo Ali Price and Luke Crosbie both start for Edinburgh Rugby while Taine Plumtree returns from injury while Wales half-backs Sam Costelow and Gareth Davies back in Scarlets starting XV.
Edinburgh Rugby v Scarlets
Hive Stadium, Edinburgh – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU, 16th league game)
AR 1: Ru Campbell (SRU) AR 2: Michael Todd (SRU)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Edinburgh Rugby: Wes Goosen, Matt Currie, Mark Bennett, James Lang, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben Healy, Ali Price, Boan Venter, Dave Cherry, Javan Sebastian, Jamie Hodgson, Grant Gilchrist (CAPT), Jamie Ritchie, Luke Crosbie, Viliame Mata
Replacements: Ewan Ashman, Pierre Schoeman, WP Nel, Marshall Sykes, Connor Boyle, Ben Vellacott, Cammy Scott, Chris Dean
Scarlets: Ioan Nicholas, Tom Rogers, Johnny Williams, Eddie James, Tomi Lewis, Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies, Kemsley Mathias, Ryan Elias (CAPT), Sam Wainwright, Alex Craig, Sam Lousi, Taine Plumtree, Dan Davis, Vaea Fifita
Replacements: Shaun Evans, Wyn Jones, Harri O’Connor, Morgan Jones, Carwyn Tuipulotu, Archie Hughes, Dan Jones, Ryan Conbeer
Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt said: “It’s brilliant to be back home at Hive Stadium with so much travel to South Africa in recent weeks. The boys can’t wait to run out in front of our supporters and there has definitely been a buzz and energy about the squad this week. We’ve made a number of changes to freshen things up. Luke [Crosbie] and Jamie [Hodgson] have both impressed from the bench in recent weeks and deserve their starts, while it also gives us the chance to rest a few guys who’ve carried the load for us in recent games. We know Scarlets are a dangerous team having faced them in Europe earlier this season. They come in to tomorrow night’s match with nothing to lose, so we’ve got to be ready from the get-go. There is no easy game in the BKT URC and this team will be ready for a proper 80-minute battle tomorrow night.”
Scarlets Head Coach Dwayne Peel said: “Obviously, we were disappointed with our performance against Glasgow after coming into that game on the back of a tough, well-fought win over Benetton. There is an opportunity now to go to Edinburgh and put that right. We have had a bit of a break, a bit of reflection and we're looking forward to the rest of the season. There are five games left and opportunities for guys to put their hands up and also an opportunity to find some momentum and show some fight.”