Pro12: Michael Bradley names strong side in bid to jump above Ulster

MICHAEL Bradley has made 13 changes and can field something resembling his first choice XV as Edinburgh bid to leapfrog rivals Ulster in a fascinating head-to-head at Murrayfield tonight.

As well as experiencing similar domestic fortunes – the clubs are placed eighth and ninth in the RaboDirect Pro12 – the teams currently sit top of their respective Heineken Cup Pools, a position they will be battling to maintain when their focus switches back to Europe competition next weekend.

Bradley said: “Like us, Ulster have so far enjoyed a successful Heineken Cup campaign but have not been as convincing in the RaboDirect Pro12, though they clearly took a big step towards addressing that last weekend against Munster [beating the champions 33-17].

“We have shown good form in front of our home support, winning six of our last seven at Murrayfield however Ulster have lost just one in their last five so will arrive with a lot of confidence, something which we will need to tackle early on.

“This is a huge match for us as a big month for the club continues and, while we’ve acknowledged the long-term importance of our January fixtures, the players and coaches focused fully on the size of the job at hand. Success tomorrow would clearly give us the winning momentum we desire going into the Heineken Cup. However, first and foremost this is about winning in the RaboDirect Pro12.”

Stand-off Phil Godman is the only back to retain a starting spot from last weekend’s 17-12 defeat to Glasgow Warriors, where his drop-goal secured a losing bonus-point on the stroke of full-time. The recently-honoured Chris Paterson MBE returns to start the match at full-back and is joined by incoming centres James King and Nick De Luca. Their selection sees Jim Thompson and Matt Scott move to the bench and the injured John Houston drop out.

The back line is completed by the return of the league’s top try-scorer Tim Visser and Tom Brown, who returns from injury seeking to continue his try-scoring form from the opposite wing. In the pack the club’s all-international front-row of Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford and Geoff Cross are set to start in place of props Jack Gilding and Kyle Traynor, who start on the bench.

Ford’s reintroduction means Andrew Kelly drops out of the squad as young hooker Alun Walker retains his place on the bench. Esteban Lozada and Sean Cox start in the second-row as straight swaps for Grant Gilchrist, who is on the bench, and the injured Steven Turnbull. There’s only one change to the back-row, which sees Roddy Grant replace Alan MacDonald, who drops to the bench.

Edinburgh: C Paterson, T Brown, N De Luca, J King, T Visser; P Godman, G Laidlaw (capt); A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross, S Cox, E Lozada, S McInally, R Grant, N Talei