Tonks and Atiga return for Edinburgh Rugby

October 19, 2012 3:32 pm

Full-back Greig Tonks and centre Ben Atiga have recovered from injury to make to make their Heineken Cup debuts for Edinburgh against Munster on Saturday.

The duo are among five changes made by head coach Michael Bradley as his team look to bounce back from last week’s disastrous 45-0 home defeat at the hands of Saracens. Tonks and Atiga replace Tom Brown and Matt Scott, who both drop to the bench, respectively.

The capital side have a point to prove after the Saracens result but Bradley is acutely aware that a trip to face Munster on their Limerick home turf is a daunting one. Bradley said:- “Thomond Park is a fortress, steeped in the Heineken Cup history. The fans and the players will be fired up for this, so we’ll need to front up to the physical aspects of the game from the outset.”

Bradley’s will be hoping that his changes will give his side both a physical and attacking edge for the vital fixture. Fijian Number 8 Netani Talei returns to the back row with Stuart McInally moving to open-side flanker in place of Ross Rennie who does not make the match-day squad. Scotland prop Geoff Cross comes back into the pack at tight-head in place of Willem Nel. Club captain Greig Laidlaw has failed to recover from the shoulder injury he sustained in last week’s match and his place at stand-off goes to Gregor Hunter while second row Sean Cox will skipper the team.

To win the match Bradley insists that Edinburgh must front up against the two-times former European champions and silence the home crowd. He said: “If we match them physically, and are patient and accurate in possession, then we have a chance to impose our game plan and not be dictated to by the Munster players and a Thomond Park crowd that will be desperate for a home win.”

Edinburgh Rugby team to play Munster in round two of the Heineken Cup at Thomond Park, Limerick (kick-off 12.45) – live on SkySports

15 Greig Tonks

14 Lee Jones
13 Nick De Luca
12 Ben Atiga
11 Tim Visser

10 Gregor Hunter
9 Richie Rees

1 John Yapp
2 Ross Ford
3 Geoff Cross
4 Grant Gilchrist
5 Sean Cox CAPTAIN
6 David Denton
7 Stuart McInally
8 Netani Talei