Cammy Hutchison and Freddie Owsley to start for Edinburgh

Edinburgh head coach Mike Blair has handed Cammy Hutchison and Freddie Owsley starts against Zebre as the push for silverware continues.

Blair has brought in academy graduate Hutchison at inside centre after he came off the bench in last weekend’s emphatic win over Bath, while former Great Britain under-20 sprinter Owsley makes his third start of the season on the wing.

Blair has made six changes in all after the European Challenge Cup success, with Jaco van der Walt selected at full-back and forwards Dave Cherry, Glen Young and Mesulame Kunavula starting in place of Stuart McInally, Grant Gilchrist and Magnus Bradbury.

Zach Mercer – Life in Montpellier & England Ambitions | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 30

Zach Mercer – Life in Montpellier & England Ambitions | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 30

Ahead of the United Rugby Championship game at the DAM Health Stadium, Blair said: “The games are coming thick and fast as we move into the business end of the season. We face another huge test this weekend against Zebre Parma.

“We’ve made a number of changes to the starting line-up and we’re excited to see guys take their opportunity. Young players like Cammy and Freddie have had to work hard and stay patient for their chance, so they’ll be fired up to pull on the Edinburgh jersey.

“The guys are playing with confidence but we know we’ll have to be switched on from the first whistle to get a result against a Zebre side that pushed us really hard in Parma. The crowd will once again have a big part to play in driving us forward. We can’t wait to get back out there at DAM Health Stadium.”

Edinburgh Rugby: Jaco van der Walt, Ramiro Moyano, Mark Bennett, Cammy Hutchison, Freddie Owsley, Blair Kinghorn, Henry Pyrgos (CAPT), Pierre Schoeman, Dave Cherry, Lee-Roy Atalifo, Marshall Sykes, Glen Yong, Ben Muncaster, Hamish Watson, Mesulame Kunavula

Replacements: Adam McBurney, Harrison Courtney, Angus Williams, Jamie Hodgson, Connor Boyle, Ben Vellacott, James Lang, Matt Currie

Zebre Parma: Junior Laloifi, Jacopo Trulla, Erich Cronjé, Enrico Lucchin, Simone Gesi, Antonio Rizzi, Alessandro Fusco, Danilo Fischetti, Luca Bigi (CAPT), Ion Neculai, Gabriele Venditti, Andrea Zambonin, Liam Mitchell, Maxime Mbandà, Taina Fox-Matamua

Replacements: Giampietro Ribaldi, Paolo Buonfiglio, Eduardo Bello, David Sisi, Luca Andreani, Chris Cook, Timothy O’Malley, Lorenzo Pani