With things not going so well on the domestic(ish) front, both Richard Cockerill and Danny Wilson have called upon a cruise ship’s worth of returning internationalists.
Ahead of hosting La Rochelle on Saturday night, Edinburgh give starting berths to nine players who were away in the Toony Bubble, with props Rory Sutherland and Simon Berghan among the replacements.
Blair Kinghorn has recovered from the broken finger he suffered against France to start at full-back, alongside Darcy Graham and Player of the Tournament nominee Duhan van der Merwe on the wings to form a potent looking back three.
Jaco van der Walt starts at fly-half, and five players return to the pack; Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Ben Toolis, Jamie Ritchie and Hamish Watson.
Mark Bennett and “Big Bill” Viliame Mata make their first starts in what feels like an age, whilst only four players are retained from the starting XV which were mauled to pieces by Ulster in Pierre Schoeman at loose-head, lock Andrew Davidson, scrum-half and co-captain, Henry Pyrgos, and Chris Dean at inside centre.
For Glasgow, eight Scottish caps return to Danny Wilson’s side as they face a daunting visit to Sandy Park to take on reigning champions Exeter.
Oli Kebble, George Turner and Zander Fagerson make up the front-row, with Scotland mainstay Scott Cummings, and Rob Harley directly behind to give them a shove.
Ryan Wilson captains the side at 6, Tom Gordon plays openside and Matt Fagerson completes the pack.
Ali Price returns at scrum-half alongside Peter Horne at 10, and Sam Johnson and Nick Grigg form a midfield duo which will provide plenty of go forward bustle.
Lee Jones starts on the left-wing, and Tommy Seymour – who loves a wonder-try v Exeter – returns from a concussion knock to start on the right. Glenn Bryce, November’s Warrior of the Month maintains his spot at full-back, meaning Huw Jones will wear the number 23 shirt.
Among the replacements, Sean Kennedy is picked ahead of Jamie Dobbie, with George Horne still not recovered from the foot injury which was expected to only keep him out of the Italy match a month ago.
Exeter will also have plenty of Scottish interest in their side, with Jonny Gray and Sam Skinner partnering each other in the engine room, national team captain Stuart Hogg starts at full-back, and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne expected to come off the bench at some stage.
Edinburgh: Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, Mark Bennett, Chris Dean,Duhan van der Merwe, Jaco van der Walt, Henry Pyrgos; Pierre Schoeman, Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Ben Toolis,
Andrew Davidson, Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Viliame Mata
Replacements: Mike Willemse, Rory Sutherland, Simon Berghan,
Andries Ferreira, Magnus Bradbury, Nic Groom,
Nathan Chamberlain, James Johnstone
Glasgow Warriors: Glenn Bryce, Tommy Seymour, Nick Grigg,
Sam Johnson, Lee Jones, Peter Horne, Ali Price; Oli Kebble,
George Turner, Zander Fagerson, Rob Harley, Scott Cummings,
Ryan Wilson, Tom Gordon, Matt Fagerson
Replacements: Grant Stewart, Aki Seiuli, Enrique Pieretto,
Kiran McDonald, TJ Ioane, Sean Kennedy, Brandon Thomson,
Huw Jones