Edinburgh v Leinster (Sat 26th Sept)

Edinburgh v Leinster (Sat)

MAGNERS LEAGUE

Venue: Murrayfield Date: Saturday, 26 September Kick-off: 1830 BST
Taken and Edited From BBC Sport
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Edinburgh skipper Mike Blair will make his first start of the season, having come off the bench to good affect in the last two outings.

Centre Nick De Luca also returns to the starting line-up, reclaiming the number 12 jersey from John Houston.

Blindside flanker Alan MacDonald is back after missing Friday's win at Ulster because of a virus.

Chris Paterson continues at full-back, with Greig Laidlaw the man to make way for scrum-half Blair.

Edinburgh top the Magners League table after three straight wins and head coach Rob Moffat believes the return of Blair can further boost his confident side.

"Greig Laidlaw has played very well so far this season and we are pleased with him.," said Moffat "But Mike came on last Friday and made an impact - he is our captain and everybody knows just how good he is.

"We just felt this was a good week for Mike to start. He has had his pre-season later than others, so in many respects he is still getting into the season.

"We are looking to carefully manage the whole squad over the course of the season because there is a lot of rugby to be played in the Magners League, Heineken Cup and in international rugby as well.

"You've got to look at the whole season. We cannot just rely on 25 players in order to achieve that. Last season I believe we used 36 players, so I'm sure we will use that amount again."

Edinburgh, runners-up last season, have seen off Blues, Connacht and Ulster so far but the European champions should provide a stern test for the home side.

"This week we face a completely different challenge against a team like Leinster and a lot of their big name players should be back this weekend," added Moffat.

"Historically, we've played well against Leinster here at Murrayfield and both teams tend to want to play open, attacking rugby which will make it an exciting encounter for spectators.

"Leinster have developed their game over the past two or three seasons and they are far more physical than they used to be."
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Edinburgh: Chris Paterson, Mark Robertson, Ben Cairns, Nick De Luca, Tim Visser, Phil Godman, Mike Blair (captain), Kyle Traynor, Ross Ford, Geoff Cross, Craig Hamilton, Scott MacLeod, Alan MacDonald, Roddy Grant, Allister Hogg.
Replacements: Andrew Kelly, Allan Jacobsen, Ryan Grant/Davie Young, Steve Turnbull, Scott Newlands, Greig Laidlaw, John Houston.
Leinster: tbc