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Edinburgh name side laden with Scottish internationals for Jo'burg mission
By Ian Cameron
Mike Blair has named an Edinburgh side heavy with Scottish internationals for their United Rugby Championship (URC) showdown with the Lions in Johannesburg this weekend.
The capital side welcome back Scotland stars Pierre Schoeman, WP Nel, Stuart McInally, Grant Gilchrist and Darcy Grahaminto the starting fifteen, one that already includes the likes of Blair Kinghorn, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury, Mark Bennett, James Lang and Ben Vellacott.
Nel, McInally, Gilchrist and Graham linked up with the touring squad in South Africa earlier this week and join Schoeman – who was Edinburgh's 24th man for their historic Saturday’s victory over the Cell C Sharks.
It was the first European win on South African soil in the URC.
“We’ve spoken a lot this week about backing up Saturday’s win in Durban with another strong performance against Emirates Lions," said head coach Blair. “We’ve seen a real focus among the squad throughout this week’s training and I know the guys will be desperate to once again show that determination and commitment to the jersey that we saw in spades last weekend.
“It’s going to take another massive 80-minute performance in Johannesburg against a really confident Lions side but we’re up for the challenge and look forward to once again representing the club and city in one of world rugby’s most iconic stadiums.”
Former Montepellier fullback Henry Immelman is named at fullback, while Los Pumas flyer Emiliano Boffelli is named on the wing.
The Lions are expecting a tough challenge from the Scots.
“We have had some time to recover since last Friday's game,” said Emirates Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen. “The players came back fresh on Monday and were ready to put in solid sessions this week.
“Edinburgh were successful last week against the Sharks, so they might fancy their chances up here in Johannesburg. Likewise, we've had a string of positive results in recent weeks which has certainly motivated us to improve on our performances as the tournament progresses.”
EDINBURGH:
15. Henry Immelman
14. Darcy Graham
13. Mark Bennett
12. James Lang
11. Emiliano Boffelli
10. Blair Kinghorn
9. Ben Vellacott
1. Pierre Schoeman
2. Stuart McInally
3. WP Nel
4. Pierce Phillips
5. Grant Gilchrist
6. Magnus Bradbury
7. Hamish Watson
8. Ben Muncaster
REPLACEMENTS:
16. Dave Cherry
17. Boan Venter
18. Luan de Bruin
19. Glen Young
20. Connor Boyle
21. Charlie Shiel
22. Jaco van der Walt
23. Matt Currie
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Think we have to accept we have been on the slide for a while now.Still interesting to see the repeated media pieces about the myth of the ABs slipping-I would say slipped past tense.In part don’t we have to give credit for the improvement of other nations particularly Ireland?Isnt that good for the game?Are we beginning to feel the impact of losing the Boks from Super rugby and maybe soon TRC?I would agree we are also ran right now so will be interesting to see how we progress-assuming we do!Isnt that part of sport though to be in improvement mode?Back to the stats though I think the Boks were under 60% leading into 2019?Now with the focus on the RWC does it matter so much what you are doing between tournaments?You just get through your group(remembering the ABs qualified 2nd in 2023)and then you have 3 matches to win the thing.
Go to commentsThe ABs have more than enough back line guys so don’t see issue there. Just the balance at center and feel time for Rieko to sit out.Forwards- balance still not right. Front row ok but miss Codie. But still ok. Locks- you now need to start s a tall timber at middle of lineout- Darry is the right guy. Then move Sititi to 8, move Ardie to 7 and then move Vaai to blindside. He can become the closest to PSdT . Then have proper bench as this is not a demotion but key to dominating last 30 minutes- Patrick, Ofa etc are golden here. Get the balance right between starters and finishers
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