Edinburgh expect struggling Wasps to deliver stinging response

Edinburgh will be boosted by the return of Scotland wing Darcy Graham who makes his first appearance since the World Cup. Picture: Ross MacDonald/SNS

Edinburgh are top of Pool 3 along with Bordeaux after the first two rounds of games, with Wasps just two points behind. There is still all to play for, then, and Edinburgh assistant coach Duncan Hodge expects to face a side desperate for a morale-boosting win.

“They’ve not rested anyone,” he said of a visiting squad that includes two former All Black stand-offs – Lima Sopoaga, who starts, and the veteran Jimmy Gopperth, who is on the bench. “As far as I can see they’ve gone as strong as they can.

“Obviously they’re struggling a bit in the Premiership, but you look at their team and they’ve got some great players there. They’ve got lots of quality – why they’re struggling, it’s difficult to put your finger on it, but they need a win and need to get some momentum in the Premiership so they’ve come fully loaded.

“That’s a great thing for us. It’ll be a brilliant test against a good side.”

The Edinburgh line-up has enough firepower to test Wasps in return, particularly in the back three, where Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe are joined by right-winger Darcy Graham, who has now recovered from a thigh strain and will be making his first appearance since the World Cup. “It’s always great to bring in guys of Darcy’s calibre, so we’re really excited to see him play alongside Duhan in that back three,” Hodge added. “Our challenge is to get the ball out to him,  and I can’t wait to see him play.”

Graham takes the place of Eroni Sau, while there are three other changes in the back division from the selection that began last week’s Pro14 win in Munster. James Johnstone and George Taylor take over at centre from Mark Bennett and Matt Scott respectively, and Simon Hickey replaces Jaco van der Walt at stand-off. Scott damaged a rib in last week’s win over Munster and could be out for several weeks, according to Hodge.

Up front, Simon Berghan is at tighthead instead of Pietro Ceccarelli, and there are two alterations to the back row, with Jamie Ritchie in for  Magnus Bradbury at blindside and Nick Haining returning from suspension to take over at No 8 from Bill Mata, who is on the bench.

Summer signing Haining impressed in his outings for Edinburgh before picking up a two-week ban, while Mata has yet to find his best form this season, so the selection makes sense. Even so, Hodge believes the scene is set for Mata to have a significant say in the outcome of the game should he be given the chance.

“Nick was playing really well – he’s obviously been out with a two-week break, but before that he played really well at Agen and he played well for the rest of the season, so he gets a shot. But Bill can have a big impact off the bench and he’s got to step up and match Nick, really.”

l James Johnstone yesterday became the third player in as many days to sign a new contract with Edinburgh, the 29-year-old centre following on from Pierre Schoeman and Chris Dean. The lengths of the deals have not been specified.

“Since joining from the Sevens programme, Jimmy has had a huge impact on the squad in the way he’s applied himself to improve his game,” head coach Richard Cockerill said. “He’s another local man who’s committed himself to the future of the club and we all look forward to seeing him continue his development.”