Edinburgh v Connacht: Teams

Edinburgh head coach Rob Moffat has made four changes to his side for the visit on Connacht on Friday.

Stuart McInally, fresh from impressing for Scotland A, will make his first start at No.8, with Netani Talei moving to the blindside flank as a result.

Lock Craig Hamilton, winger Tim Visser and full-back Chris Paterson also return to the starting XV.

And Moffat wants his side to show the same ruthlessness they displayed when thrashing Connacht 62-13 last September.

"It was a terrific night for us last time against Connacht - the players gave us everything we'd asked for," Moffat said.

"We're well aware that the margin of victory that game was pretty exceptional, but the guys should be looking at the qualities that produced the result and looking to replicate them this weekend.

"If we do that, we'll give ourselves an excellent chance of winning the game and continuing that good recent run at Murrayfield.

Connacht prop Geoff Cross is set to make his 100th Magners League appearance after being named on the bench.

Coach Eric Elwood has handed Brian Tuohy and Shane Monahan their first league starts of the season, while Andrew Browne returns to the pack.

Edinburgh: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Jim Thompson, 13 Ben Cairns, 12 John Houston, 11 Tim Visser, 10 David Blair, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Stuart McInally, 7 Roddy Grant (c), 6 Netani Talei, 5 Fraser McKenzie, 4 Craig Hamilton, 3 David Young, 2 Andrew Kelly, 1 Kyle Traynor,
Replacements: 16 Finlay Gillies, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Lewis Niven, 19 Steven Turnbull, 20 Scott Newlands, 21 Ross Samson, 22 Alex Grove.

Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 Shane Monahan, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Keith Matthews, 11 Brian Tuohy, 10 Miah Nikora, 9 Frank Murphy, 8 John Muldoon, 7 Johnny O'Connor, 6 Andrew Browne, 5 Michael McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Jamie Hagan, 2 Dermot Murphy, 1 Brett Wilkinson
Replacements: 16 Ronan Loughney, 17 Dylan Rogers, 18 Rob Sweeney, 19 Bernie Upton, 20 Mike McComish, 21 Cillian Willis, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 Troy Nathan.