Richard Cockerill’s basket is not as overflowing as Dave Rennie’s this week as PRO14 action resumes but he does have Ross Ford and Luke Hamilton back from the Scotland squad who didn’t add to their caps, and Ben Toolis, who did but not at 6 where he will play this weekend.
It could be the Townsend brains trust sharing ideas with Cockers or just the fact that between injuries and international duty the likes of John Barclay, Magnus Bradbury, Bill Mata, Jamie Ritchie and Hamish Watson are all unavailable to Edinburgh; it is more likely that they’ve just got more second rows spare which is great news for young lads like Jamie Hodgson, Callum Hunter-Hill and Ally Miller desperate for game time at this level. It’ll be interesting to see how the lineout goes although I am sure Toolis will have some input.
The Dragons will be led by the ever-dependable Richard Hibbard in a Battle of the Former Greats with Ross Ford. It’s difficult to see how this one will turn out, but away points for Edinburgh would be a useful boost to their league campaign.
Dragons: Jordan Williams, Jared Rosser, Tyler Morgan, Jarryd Sage, Hallam Amos, Jason Tovey, Rhodri Williams, Ryan Bevington, Richard Hibbard (capt), Lloyd Fairbrother, Rynard Landman, Lewis Evans, Harri Keddie, Nic Cudd, Ollie Griffiths.
Replacements: Rhys Lawrence, Aaron Jarvis, Leon Brown, Brandon Nansen, James Benjamin, Rhodri Davies, Arwel Robson, Adam Warren.
Edinburgh Rugby: Dougie Fife, Darcy Graham, James Johnstone, Chris Dean, Duhan van der Merwe, Simon Hickey, Henry Pyrgos (capt); Pierre Schoeman, Ross Ford, Pietro Ceccarelli, Jamie Hodgson, Callum Hunter-Hill, Ben Toolis, Ally Miller, Luke Hamilton.
Replacements: Dave Cherry, Rory Sutherland, Murray McCallum, Callum Atkinson, Lewis Wynne, Sean Kennedy, Jaco van der Walt, Juan Pablo Socino.
Referee: Stuart Berry
Rodney Parade, Sunday 25th, 5.30pm