Racing Metro v Edinburgh - Heineken Cup match preview
Edinburgh will be hoping to keep their chances of knockout cup rugby alive against Racing Metro in Heineken Cup action.
Last Updated: 08/12/12 5:37pm
Edinburgh will be hoping to keep their chances of knockout cup rugby alive against Racing Metro in Heineken Cup action on Saturday.
Michael Bradley's team are winless from the first two rounds of competition, having lost to Saracens and Munster.
The Scottish club beat the Top 14 side both home and away last season. A last-gasp goal secured a 27-24 win at Stade Yves du Manoir in January.
Bradley has made four changes to the team in Paris, all of which are in the pack's tight five.
While the loose forwards and the starting back division remain unchanged, a fresh international front-row of John Yapp, Ross Ford and Geoff Cross come back to pack down alongside returning second-row Grant Gilchrist.
Their selection sees Allan Jacobsen, Andy Titterrell, WP Nel and Perry Parker start on the bench, with a replacement appearance for Parker signalling his tournament debut.
Other notable inclusions on the bench are newly signed fly-half, Piers Francis, who could make his club debut from the bench after replacing the injured Ross Rennie (shoulder) in the club's 38-man Heineken Cup squad.
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Tom Brown, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Stuart McInally, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 David Denton, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Andy Titterrell, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 WP Nel, 19 Perry Parker, 20 Rob McAlpine, 21 Piers Francis, 22 Douglas Fife, 23 Lee Jones.
Racing Metro: 15 Juan Martin Hernandez, 14 Virimi Vakatawa, 13 Guillaume Bousses, 12 Fabrice Estebanez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Olly Barkley, 9 Sebastien Descons, 8 Masi Matadigo, 7 Jacques Cronje, 6 Antoine Batut, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Fabrice Metz, 3 Benjamin Sa, 2 Thomas Bianchin 1 Julien Brugnaut.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Bernard Le Roux, 20 Jone Qovu Nailiko, 21 Camille Gerondeau, 22 Maxime Machenaud, 23 Alexandre Dumoulin
What they said...
Edinburgh coach Michael Bradley
"The matches against Racing Metro will live long in the memory of Edinburgh players and fans as famous nights in the club's history, however I don't believe the memory of the matches will be lost on Racing Metro," said Bradley.
"To score 47 points away from home and not win and to be defeated by a last second drop goal at home will have caused a great deal of hurt for the Racing players and management, a hurt for which they will seek revenge in these two games.
"Metro are an immensely physical team and have added more fire power to their squad since we last played. Like last season, our ability to cope with that, and their aggression, will be crucial to the outcome of this game."
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