EDINBURGH will lift the 1872 Cup for the fourth successive season if they win at Scotstoun tonight, and Richard Cockerill has every intention of doing so in style.
The visitors’ head coach believes his team could and should have beaten Glasgow more convincingly than they managed in the end last week, and has tweaked his starting line-up with the aim of playing a faster, slicker game. And, after announcing that line-up, which shows seven changes from the 10-7 win at Murrayfield, Cockerill again called for the Warriors to be shown yellow cards if they keep on offending in the scrum.
Some of the changes to the visitors’ 15 for the PRO14 match have been forced on the coach, with Ben Toolis and Duhan van der Merwe missing out through short-term injuries and Darcy Graham being omitted for personal reasons. Others are rotational, with props Rory Sutherland and Simon Berghan starting after coming off the bench in place of Pierre Schoeman and WP Nel last Saturday.
The key alteration, however, is very much one made by choice, with Cockerill’s preference of Nic Groom to Henry Pyrgos at scrum-half illustrating how the coach plans to play. “With Nic Groom we wanted to approach the game slightly differently, so he starts,” Cockerill said.
“We just want a bit more continuity and speed of ball. I felt Henry didn’t give us that last week, so we’ve got good depth in our squad and Nic comes in and gives us that. They’re slightly different 9s, and I want a 9 who is quick to the ball and I want us playing on top of teams when we get the opportunity.
“I thought we left some opportunities out there at the weekend. We’ve got a good squad and people are competing for their spots. That’s the reason for selection.
“We don't try to play a turgid game. We actually try to play. We score tries. We are an expansive team as and when we have the opportunity.”
Groom’s scampering around the base of the ruck is more suited to an expansive game plan than Pyrgos’s more measured approach, but Cockerill has certainly not singled out his co-captain for blame. There were collective failings in the Edinburgh ranks last week, most notably in the lineout, where Richie Gray ruled the roost on his return for Glasgow. And as the coach saw it, there was an individual failing by referee Sam Grove-White, who failed to send any Warriors player to the sinbin despite repeat offending in the scrum.
“We had eight penalties against Glasgow at the scrum,” the coach continued. “They had a final warning after the third one - but there were no consequences from that. That’s been fed back and dealt with.
“If you are five metres out and it's your scrum and you can push them backwards and they stand up or wheel round illegally and keep doing that, what is the alternative but to send a player to the bin? That's the game.
“I'm sure Glasgow will be a far tougher prospect at the scrum this weekend. They’ll have been practising scrummaging while we've been practising lineouts.”
Referee Mike Adamson takes over in the middle from the less experienced Grove-White at Scotstoun, and Cockerill suggested that could make a difference. “Mike is a very good referee. He’s just been given his first international game, and that's credit to him for the work he has put in over the last number of years.”
After Gray’s comeback following concussion last week, tonight it is the turn of Edinburgh lock Grant Gilchrist to be restored after a couple of months on the sidelines, in his case because of a groin injury. Andrew Davidson is also fit again to take his place in the second row after being out with injury for a couple of weeks, while Toolis should be back for next week’s Champions Cup game against Sale Sharks.
Van der Merwe should also be back for the home European tie next Saturday, although it is not yet clear when Graham will return. Their places on the wing go to Jack Blain and Eroni Sau respectively. If Glasgow win to level the series at one apiece, the destination of the cup should be decided by a third meeting late in the regular season.
Edinburgh (v Glasgow at Scotstoun, Friday 7.35pm): B Kinghorn; E Sau, M Bennett, C Dean, J Blain; J van der Walt, N Groom; R Sutherland, S McInally, S Berghan, A Davidson, G Gilchrist, J Ritchie, H Watson, V Mata. Substitutes: D Cherry, P Schoeman, W Nel, J Hodgson, M Bradbury, H Pyrgos, N Chamberlain, J Johnstone.
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