Robbie Fruean to start in Edinburgh Rugby debut against Dragons
The 29-year-old, who arrived from Bath in the summer after starring for Crusaders in Super Rugby, starts at inside centre alongside Chris Dean in the Edinburgh midfield.
Head coach Richard Cockerill has made five changes to the starting XV that beat Cardiff Blues 20-10 in Wales last weekend.
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Hide AdAs well as Fruean, Damien Hoyland replaces the injured Dougie Fife on the right wing.
At loose-head, Italian international prop Michele Rizzo replaces Darryl Marfo who drops to the bench whilst Ben Toolis rorates in for Anton Bresler. Toolis will pack-down alongside Grant Gilchrist who makes his 100th appearance for the club.
Cockerill said: “Training has been good this week and we took great confidence from getting the result in Cardiff. We’ve put in a lot of hard work in pre-season and I think we saw the rewards of that at the weekend.
“We’ve got to keep chipping away and keep building that confidence, culture and identity in what we’re doing. It was a good start for us, but we need to get it right again tomorrow night against the Dragons to make sure we keep collecting points - getting as many as we can, as early as we can.
“I expect energy from the guys who’ve come in. They’ve worked hard and got their opportunity to play. We’ve got a strong squad and we’ve got options in a lot of positions, so for the guys coming in, I want them to bring us energy, but I also want them to fight and try and earn a spot in this team.
“Myreside is a great stadium. The guys behind the scenes have put in a lot of work to get it ready and it’s a fantastic surface for the team to play on. When people come and watch us, they’ll walk away knowing that their team has put 100 per cent commitment into the Edinburgh shirt.”
EDINBURGH TEAM to play Dragons at Myreside in the Guinness PRO14 on Friday 8 September (kick-off 7.35pm) – live on BBC ALBA
15. Blair Kinghorn
14. Damien Hoyland
13. Chris Dean
12. Robbie Fruean
11. Jason Harries
10. Duncan Weir
9. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne
1. Michele Rizzo
2. Stuart McInally
3. WP Nel
4. Ben Toolis
5. Grant Gilchrist
6. Jamie Ritchie
7. Hamish Watson
8. Magnus Bradbury (c)
SUBS
16. Ross Ford
17. Darryl Marfo
18. Simon Berghan
19. Fraser McKenzie
20. Cornell du Preez
21. Nathan Fowles
22. Jason Tovey
23. Junior Rasolea