Edinburgh v Connacht: Teams
Scotland captain Mike Blair is a doubt for Edinburgh's clash with Connacht on Friday after going down with a throat infection.
Last Updated: 18/09/09 10:12am
Scotland captain Mike Blair is a doubt for Edinburgh's clash with Connacht on Friday after going down with a throat infection.
The British and Irish Lions scrum-half was initially named on the bench for the Magners League clash at Murrayfield, however Ross Samson has now been placed on standby.
Tim Visser is a surprise absentee after his try-scoring debut against Cardiff, with Andrew Turnbull replacing the Dutch winger.
Steve Jones also comes into the squad as does Scotland hooker Ross Ford, who like Blair, is set to be involved for the first time after being rested from the opening weekend because he was involved in the Lions' tour to South Africa.
And Ford is raring to get going, saying: "I'm really excited to be back in the squad for Friday's match.
"I've now had four weeks of pre-season training, so I feel fresh and I'm looking forward to getting back into it.
"Last week's win at Cardiff was an excellent result and now hopefully I'll be able to help the team build on that against Connacht."
Connacht coach Michael Bradley has made three changes to his squad for the trip to Scotland.
Troy Nathan, Jamie Hagan and Ronan Loughney have been names in the starting XV, with Brett Wilkinson, Robbie Morris and Niva Ta'auso ruled out through injury.
Wilkinson has damaged a finger, Morris is still struggling with the back injury that forced him off against the Ospreys while Ta'auso has fractured a bone in his hand.
Edinburgh: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Mark Robertson, 13 Ben Cairns, 12 John Houston, 11 Andrew Turnbull, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Allister Hogg (capt), 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Alan MacDonald, 5 Scott MacLeod, 4 Craig Hamilton, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Andrew Kelly, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Ross Ford, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Fraser McKenzie, 19 Scott Newlands, 20 Mike Blair/Ross Samson, 21 Steve Jones, 22 Nick De Luca.
Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 Brian Tuohy, 13 Troy Nathan, 12 Keith Matthews, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Frank Murphy, 1 Ronan Loughney, 2 Sean Cronin, 3 Jamie Hagan, 4 Andrew Browne, 5 Bernie Upton, 6 John Muldoon, 7 Ray Ofisa, 8 Mike McComish.
Replacements: 16 Adrian Flavin, 17 Conor Higgins, 18 Mike McCarthy, 19 Johnny O'Connor, 20 Miah Nikora, 21 Conor O'Loughlin, 22 Aidan Wynne.