Sunday's Guinness PRO12 team news
Monday 28 December 2015 12:01, UK
All the team news for Sunday's PRO fixtures, including the all-Scottish clash between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Edinburgh v Glasgow (3.05pm)
Edinburgh veteran Ross Ford makes his 150th appearance for the Scottish club when they take on Glasgow in the PRO12 on Sunday.
A crowd of more than 20,000 is expected to watch the Scottish rivals do battle, and Edinburgh coach Alan Solomons is hoping his side will retain the 1872 Cup.
"We're all delighted that we'll have such a big crowd adding to the atmosphere of what is always a hard-fought fixture," said Solomons.
"With both clubs winning their European fixtures last weekend, the teams will be looking for the momentum to carry through to a winning performance on Sunday.
"We know how keen Glasgow are to win back the trophy - and how intent we are on retaining it - so I've no doubt it will be a highly physical encounter.
"Our pack were, again, excellent last weekend and, on a personal note, I'd like to congratulate Ross Ford on reaching a milestone 150 caps. It's a great achievement from a player who has been a magnificent servant to the club."
The match will also give Edinburgh fans the chance to say farewell to back-row forward Roddy Grant, 28, who has announced his retirement after failing to recover from a knee injury he suffered at the end of last season.
Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Michael Allen, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Phil Burleigh, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 1 Rory Sutherland, 2 Ross Ford, 3 WP Nel, 4 Anton Bresler, 5 Alex Toolis, 6 Mike Coman (c), 7 John Hardie, 8 Cornell Du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Allan Dell, 18 John Andress, 19 Ben Toolis, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Greig Tonks, 23 Andries Strauss.
Glasgow: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Grayson Hart, 1 Ryan Grant, 2 Fraser Brown, 3 Sila Puafisi, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 5 Jonny Gray (c), 6 Ryan Wilson, 7 Chris Fusaro, 8 Adam Ashe.
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Simone Favaro, 21 Ali Price, 22 Sam Johnson, 23 Lee Jones.
Zebre v Treviso (3pm)
Zebre have not won in the Guinness PRO12 since beating Cardiff Blues in Parma in Round 6.
Benetton Treviso, however have lost their last 20 fixtures in all tournaments, with their last victory also coming against the Cardiff Blues, at Stadio Monigo in the PRO12 in February.
The two sides have met on six previous occasions, with Zebre's only victory being 14-12 in Parma in January last year.
Zebre: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Dion Berryman, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Kayle Van Zyl, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Luke Burgess, 1 Andrea Lovotti, 2 Tommaso D'Apice, 3 Dario Chistolini, 4 Marco Bortolami, 5 George Biagi (c), 6 Jacopo Sarto, 7 Johan Meyer, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk.
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Kelly Haimona, 23 Ulrich Beyers.
Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Pratichetti, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Simone Ragusi, 10 Jayden Hayward, 9 Edoardo Gori, 1 Matthew Zanusso, 2 Davide Giazzon, 3 Rupert Harden, 4 Marco Fuser, 5 Tom Palmer, 6 Marco Barbini, 7 Francesco Minto, 8 Alessandro Zanni (C).
Replacements: 16 Ornel Gega, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Salesi Manu, 19 Teofilo Paulo, 20 Abraham Steyn, 21 Robert Barbieri, 22 Chris Smylie, 23 Alberto Sgarbi.
