Richard Cockerill urges Edinburgh to 'do whatever it takes' to beat Cardiff in PRO14 clash

Richard Cockerill has urged his side to avoid a slip-up at home to Cardiff

Richard Cockerill has told Edinburgh to do "whatever it takes" to claim victory at home to Cardiff on Friday night.

The capital club hold a three-point lead at the top of the Guinness PRO14's Conference B and head coach Cockerill wants to avoid a slip up when Blues travel north.

He said: "We need to make sure we're on it. We should be well motivated since we're on a good run, but we need to make sure we get all the basic things right.

"The weather will be a little bit better than the last two weeks, but we need to be really functional and practical in how we play. We just need to go and win the game - do whatever it takes to win.

"I'm not fussy about our style. Substance, physicality and mentality should be 10 out of 10 for us and we should go out with confidence to make sure we get our performance right."

An unchanged back three sees Damien Hoyland continue at full-back with wingers Duhan Van Der Merwe - a try-scorer in his last five consecutive fixtures - and Eroni Sau once again named on the flanks.

Centres George Taylor and James Johnstone form an all-new midfield pairing, with stand-off Simon Hickey - who contributed 12 points from his boot in last weekend's win over Connacht - partnering Charlie Shiel as he makes his first home start at scrum-half.

Prop duo Jamie Bhatti and Simon Berghan have been released from Scotland's Guinness Six Nations squad and pack down alongside hooker Mike Willemse in a rotated front row.

Scotland lock Grant Gilchrist - who skippers the side - links-up with Lewis Carmichael in the second-row, as an unchanged back-row trio sees Nick Haining, Luke Crosbie and Viliame Mata complete the pack.