The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Cockerill calls on Edinburgh to rally behind team for Toulon Euro clash
Cockerill calls on supporters to give team a boost for crucial Champions Cup games
Head coach Richard Cockerill has issued a rallying cry for the city of Edinburgh to get behind its club as they face-off against one of European rugby’s most starstudded sides.
Three-times Heineken Cup champions Toulon are the opposition at BT Murrayfield this afternoon (3.15pm kickoff) for the first game in the capital in the competition since January 2014.
“A bumper crowd would definitely give us an edge,” said Cockerill.
“It is, to a point, new territory for us in recent history, so I’d love the supporters to come along and get behind their city and support us.
“We’re going to try our best. We’ve always said we’re a side that’s developing, but we’re learning our lessons quickly.
“As I’ve always said, we’re going to try and win every time we play. We didn’t last weekend, but we gave Montpellier one hell of a fright.
“The next step is to start picking off these big teams and we’re going to try to do that against Toulon this Saturday.”
An unchanged back-three sees fullback Blair Kinghorn named alongside wingers Dougie Fife – a try-scorer in last weekend’s Heineken Champions Cup opener in Montpellier – and Darcy Graham.
In the midfield, Matt Scott – fresh from being named in the Scotland squad for the 2018 Autumn Tests – is partnered by James Johnstone.
Henry Pyrgos is selected at scrum-half alongside Van der Walt, who makes only his third start of the season after facing Connacht and Leinster earlier in the season.
An all-Scotland tight-five sees hooker and captain Stuart McInally pack down alongside WP Nel and Allan Dell in the front-row, whilst Ben Toolis and Grant Gilchrist continue their partnership in the second-row.
After another all-action performance against Montpellier, Fijian star Bill Mata starts at number eight, with Scotland internationalists Hamish Watson and Magnus Bradbury completing the backrow.