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Edinburgh seek to bounce back from Zebre horror

Edinburgh's acting head coach Duncan Hodge.
Edinburgh's acting head coach Duncan Hodge.

The debrief on the Zebre debacle was painful, but Edinburgh have to get back on the horse immediately without their Scotland regulars as Ulster arrive in the Guinness PRO12 at BT Murrayfield tonight.

Only co-captain Stuart McInally and wing Damien Hoyland of the capital club’s seven players in the national squad have returned to Murrayfield for the visit of the Northern Irishmen, which means five changes in the pack from last week’s sorry loss.

Yet acting head coach Duncan Hodge knew all along he’d probably have to deal without Grant Gilchrist, Al Dickinson, Hamish Watson, John Hardie and possibly even Alan Dell, who has stayed in training camp suggesting he has a strong chance of a first cap against the Wallabies next week.

What most troubles Hodge is the injury list which means that players brought in to specifically plug the experience gaps during international windows like Nasi Manu, Anton Bresler and Viliami Fihaki are all absent, and it’s a pretty inexperienced pack going up against an almost full strength Ulster eight.

Jack Cosgrove and Murray McCallum will make their first starts in the front row, Jamie Ritchie is recalled to the back row while Neil Cochrane will skipper the side from hooker, with McInally on the bench.

Hodge said the analysis of the Zebre game was no less painful than watching it live, and even more frustrating.

“We dominated territory, possession and had chances we didn’t take, then having held our nerve and got back in the game we were very naïve in that last five minutes and there were four or five decisions in a row that cost us the game,” he said.

“Mentally is the biggest thing. Yes. It’s now all about how we learn from it – we had three good weeks and now we need to get back up. There’s always going to be blips, and that was definitely that, but it was also more than that.

“The players got a shock, we coaches got a shock, but maybe that’s what we need. We need to understand these lessons, and maybe this is a learning block in there for this young squad.”

Ulster’s power game could be another lesson, conceded Hodge.

“They’re a quality team and it will be a big challenge,” he said. “Injuries and Scotland requirements have taken their toll on us but on the flip side Murray has done really well since coming in and now Jack gets his chance.

“We will learn more about our young guys. Ulster have a strong maul and a strong scrum so we expect a very tough battle there, definitely.”

There is some experienced backup on the bench as well as McInally with Cornell du Preez and Duncan Weir, who could make his return after recovering from a broken jaw.

There’s also a new face in Scottish-qualified tight head Kyle Whyte, who has signed a partnership contract with Edinburgh and Watsonians.

The 21-year-old played with Huw Jones in the Western Province Currie Cup side this season and is eligible for Scotland through his Inverness-born father Steve.

Edinburgh team (vs Ulster, Guinness PRO12, BT Murrayfield, tonight ko 7.35 pm, live on BBC Alba) Blair Kinghorn; Damien Hoyland, Chris Dean, Phil Burleigh, Tom Brown; Jason Tovey, Sean Kennedy; Jack Cosgrove, Neil Cochrane, Murray McCallum; Fraser McKenzie, Ben Toolis; Viliami Mata, Jamie Ritchie, Magnus Bradbury. Replacements: Stuart McInally, Kyle Whyte, Felipe Arregui, Lewis Carmichael, Cornell du Preez, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Duncan Weir, Michael Allen.