Edinburgh missing several Scotland stars for must-win match as 4 return

Four of Scotland’s Six Nations squad will return to action with Edinburgh on Saturday for a United Rugby Championship clash with the Lions in Johannesburg they must win to retain any hope of qualifying for the play-offs.

Captain and No.8 Magnus Bradbury and tighthead prop D’arcy Rae, both replacements in Scotland’s defeat by Ireland last Saturday, start the match, as does openside Freddy Douglas, who featured in Scotland’s win against France but was not involved in Dublin.

Hooker Ewan Ashman, who played over an hour against Ireland after replacing George Turner after 18 minutes, will start on the bench at Emirates Airlink Park, with versatile Scotland cap Dylan Richardson continuing in the No.2 jersey after his first start for the club there in their damaging home defeat by Ulster last week.

There is also a return for Scotland centre Matt Currie, who has been out for two months and missed Edinburgh’s last five games with a hamstring injury suffered against Gloucester in early January.

But wing/full-back Wes Goosen may miss the rest of the season with a fractured thumb sustained against Ulster. Jack Brown takes over on the left wing against the Lions.

Fixture

United Rugby Championship

Lions

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Edinburgh

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Scotland wing Duhan van der Merwe will also miss both of Edinburgh’s games in South Africa – they play the Stormers in Cape Town next Saturday – as he tries to shake off an ankle injury which curtailed his Six Nations involvement after starting the win in Wales.

Three other Scotland players – wing Darcy Graham, prop Pierre Schoeman and lock Grant Gilchrist – are rested after starting against Ireland last week but may fly out to join the squad next week ahead of the Stormers game.

With Bradbury and Douglas returning to the back row, Ben Muncaster shifts across from No.8 to blindside with Liam McConnell moving to the bench and Connor Boyle dropping out of the 23.

Edinburgh are 12th in the URC, seven points adrift of the top-eight places with just six games of the regular-season to go.

Last season, they were hammered 55-21 – after trailing by a record 48-0 at half-time – in Johannesburg by the Lions, who have only lost once at home in the URC this term and sit in seventh place.

“The Lions away is one of the toughest assignments in the league, as we found out last year,” said Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt. “But we are well prepared and have picked a side that can get a positive result.”

Edinburgh XV: 15. Harry Paterson; 14. Malelili Satala, 13. Matt Currie, 12. Mosese Tuipulotu, 11. Jack Brown; 10. Ross Thompson, 9. Ben Vellacott; 1. Boan Venter, 2. Dylan Richardson, 3. D’arcy Rae, 4. Marshall Sykes, 5. Glen Young, 6. Ben Muncaster, 7. Freddy Douglas, 8. Magnus Bradbury.

Replacements: 16. Ewan Ashman, 17. James Whitcombe, 18. Paul Hill, 19. Callum Hunter-Hill, 20. Liam McConnell, 21. Charlie Shiel, 22. Cammy Scott, 23. Piers O’Conor.