Edinburgh Rugby aim to make it a double over French teams

Blair Kinghorn wrapped up during training

Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has urged his side to keep the momentum rolling when they host Bordeaux-Begles tonight (kick-off 7.35pm).

The Murrayfield outfit kicked off their Challenge Cup campaign with a 31-10 win over Agen last week and now want to back that result up against another French Top 14 side.

Cockerill said: “We enjoyed a good win in Agen last weekend and we want to keep the momentum going against Bordeaux this Friday night.

“We’ve made a number of changes to the starting line-up – bringing back plenty of experience across the board – and I expect us to perform on the night.

“We’re back at BT Murrayfield in front of our own supporters and we always want to do well at home.

“We know how difficult a test we face. Bordeaux are second in the Top 14 for a reason and have players throughout their squad that can cause damage on any stage.

“However, we’ve had a really good training week and the boys are looking forward to the challenge.”

Cockerill has recalled eight internationalists to his starting XV. Scotland stars Blair Kinghorn, Mark Bennett, Matt Scott, Henry Pyrgos, Ben Toolis and Magnus Bradbury all return to the side alongside Fiji forward Bill Mata and Italy prop Pietro Ceccarelli.

Kinghorn returns at full-back, with wingers Duhan van der Merwe – who has four tries in his past two matches – and Eroni Sau named on opposite flanks.

Centres Scott and Bennett once again link-up in midfield, as a revamped half-back pairing sees Henry Pyrgos – who skippers the side – and Jaco van der Walt named at scrum-half and stand-off respectively.

Hooker Mike Willemse packs down alongside Pierre Schoeman and Ceccarelli in an all-new front-row, with club centurions Ben Toolis and Grant Gilchrist both named at lock.

Edinburgh rotate their back-row combination as Mata, Crosbie and Bradbury all get the nod for only the Capital side’s third ever meeting with Bordeaux-Begles.