Connacht v Edinburgh (Fri)

Cross featured for Scotland in the recent Six Nations championship

Edinburgh have made one change to their line-up for Friday’s Magners League match against Connacht in Galway.

Geoff Cross comes in at tighthead prop in place of David Young, who is suffering from a back injury.

Ross Ford and Allan Jacobsen will not play in Edinburgh’s remaining matches this season with Scotland coach Andy Robinson wanting the players rested.

Robinson has withdrawn the players from club duty to get them ready for the Rugby World Cup.

“Any coach will always want to field his strongest possible team – that’s natural and I’m no different,” said interim Edinburgh coach Nick Scrivener.

“Player welfare has always been a top priority for Edinburgh, and we recognise and understand the need to balance our players’ commitments in what is a very busy rugby year.”

Scrivener this week announced he would be returning to Australia at the end of the season but is keen for Edinburgh to finish the season strongly.

“We performed really well as a team against Ospreys last weekend, and it’s going to take exactly the same levels of intensity and precision to get the result we want in Connacht,” added Scrivener.

“The weather forecast for the next couple of days over there isn’t great, so we’re prepared for a lot of onus falling on our set-piece. Our lineout went very well last time out, and we’ll now be looking for a repeat as well as the same degree of effectiveness from the scrum.

“Having Geoff back in there should help in that regard. His all-round game has been very impressive for a number of months now, and we look forward to him maintaining that consistency.

“Elsewhere, we felt it was right and proper to show faith in the guys who delivered for us last week, and I’m keen to see how partnerships and combinations develop, especially at half-back where Mike Blair and Greig Laidlaw showed some very encouraging signs.

“The Ospreys game should be the template for our last four matches. It’s about us going out and showing a hunger and absolute determination to win, so that we finish what has been an up-and-down season in a really positive fashion.”

Connacht: tbc

Edinburgh: Jim Thompson, Simon Webster, Ben Cairns, James King, Tim Visser; Greig Laidlaw, Mike Blair; Kyle Traynor, Andrew Kelly (capt), Geoff Cross, Scott MacLeod, Esteban Lozada, Fraser McKenzie, Scott Newlands, David Denton.

Replacements: Alun Walker, Lewis Niven, Robin Hislop, Steven Turnbull, Roddy Grant, David Blair, Nick De Luca, Lee Jones.