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.

As 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