Greig Tonks
As Edinburgh strive for four wins from four in Europe this Sunday, Greig Tonks will be running out for his 50th cap for the club.
There are seven changes to the starting 15 that beat London Welsh in the opening double-header, at BT Murrayfield last Sunday. Jack Cuthbert comes in at fullback with Dougie Fife, a late injury withdrawal last weekend, returning on the right wing.
A changed halfback pairing sees Greig Tonks at flyhalf and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne in the scrumhalf berth.
Meanwhile in the pack, with Ross Ford still out, Neil Cochrane gets a start at hooker, while John Andress and Anton Bresler move up from the bench to start at tighthead and lock respectively.
edinburghrugby
One of Edinburgh’s first signings for 2012 / 2013, Tonks moved to the club from Northampton Saints. He started all but two matches in that debut campaign and ended the season with a first international cap, against Samoa, in the 2013 summer tour.
Speaking ahead of hitting his half-century for the capital club, Tonks said: “I’ve really enjoyed my time at Edinburgh, it’s a great feeling to have reached 50 games and I’m looking forward to many more.”
The first of those for Tonks and his team mates, of course, is Sunday’s match against London Welsh at the Kassam Stadium, the fourth of six European Cup pool matches, and he’s more than up for the challenge.
“As we played them last week, the match is fresh in our minds which is an advantage in terms of analysing their game – though, of course, they’ve been able to do that with us this week, too!”
Edinburgh have posted three wins – at home against Lyon and London Welsh and away against Bordeaux-Begles – in the Cup competition and currently sit top of their pool. Posting another win this weekend would not only cement their spot but help the club towards a place in the knockout round.
Head coach Alan Solomons said: “Tonksy getting his 50th cap is a real feature of this game. We would all like to make the match a memorable one for him and, at the same time, keep alive our aspirations in Europe.”
Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Cline, 8 Mike Coman, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Tomas Leonardi, 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 John Andress, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 James Hilterbrand, 17 Grant Shields, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Frazer McKenzie, 20 Stuart McInally, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Sam Beard.
Injury update: Players currently on the injured list are: Carl Bezuidenhout (knee), Wicus Blaauw (knee), Phil Burleigh (knee), Allan Dell (leg), David Denton (shoulder), Alasdair Dickinson (Achilles), Cornell Du Preez (leg), Jamie Farndale (knee), Ross Ford (back), Hugh Fraser (knee), Grant Gilchrist (arm), Brett Thompson (shoulder) and Hamish Watson (jaw).
New Arrivals:
Flanker Hugh Blake and stand-off Jade Te Rure will be training with Edinburgh, on a trial period of three to four months, as of this week.
Blake (22), kicked off his rugby career aged 11 for Pirongia RC in Waikato, played through the age grades, and onto the IRB Junior World Cup in South Africa. With Otago since 2011, he was also part of the Highlanders squad in 2013. Both his grandparents are Scottish – one from Glasgow and one from Edinburgh – and he still has family in the city.
Te Rure (21) who began playing as a five-year-old and graduated through New Zealand age grade sides – latterly playing at Under 20 level in the IRB Junior World Cup in France – joins from ITM Cup action with Manawatu. Scottish-qualified, through his Edinburgh-born grandmother, has played in the capital before as part of a touring Under 18 side.
Head coach Alan Solomons said: “Hugh is a promising young openside flanker who already has experience of Super Rugby. We’re pleased to have him here and I have no doubt that he will give a good account of himself.
“Jade played an integral part in Manawatu’s recent ITM Cup success. He’s a talented player and a good goal kicker and I look forward to seeing him in action.”
Hugh Blake
- Born: 10 September 1992 in Tauranga, New Zealand
- Height: 1.87m
- Weight: 102kg
Jade Te Rure
- Born: 18 June 1993 in Palmerston North, New Zealand
- Height: 1.80m
- Weight: 85kg
Pool 4 Table: European Rugby Challenge Cup
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Bonus Pts | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edinburgh | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 43 | 0 | 12 |
| 2 | Bordeaux-Begles | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 102 | 64 | 3 | 11 |
| 3 | Lyon | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 74 | 80 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | London Welsh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 51 | 105 | 0 | 0 |
Am keen to hear from our Kiwi friends what they think of Hugh Blake and Jade Te Rure. After getting a reputation as the EdinBoks (or EdinBoere as I phrased it) for recruiting lots of SA players it seems Edinburgh have been recruiting quite a few Kiwis as well although generally been targeting those Kilted Kiwis who have a Scottish granny or whatever they need to qualify straight away to be available for the national team.
Result in this pool: Lyon 37/28 Bordeaux Beagles
Bonus point win for Lyon who scored 4 tries takes them to 10 points on the table still in 3rd but now only 1 point behind Bordeaux
3 @ Bullscot:
Bully Please note the format changes to the article:
1. Picture width of topmost pic: 250
2. Team Format: From 15 down to 1 (in THAT order) and with the player names INLINE not underneath each other
3. Line Spacing before Headings
I always have to almost do articles over from scratch to fall in with our ESTABLISHED way of doing things….
Challenge Cup Pool 3 result – Newport Gwent Dragons 69/17 Buccuresti
Don’t forget its Die Baai 7s starting today
European Rugby Challenge Cup – Results today – Rovigo 17/20 Grenoble, London Irish 34/23 Cardiff Blues, Exeter 41/17 La Rochelle, Zebre 16/32 Gloucester
A scotsman was in a bar in England sitting on his own and having a pint, when 3 English men decided they would try pick a fight and wind him up
So, the first English lad says to his friends “watch this, ill get it done”.
He approaches the scot and says “Did you know St Andrew was a poof?”. The scot says “oh aye..?” and the english man goes and sits back down with his friends and tells them that he wasn’t bothered.
The second english man then says, “Watch this, i’ll get it done”. He approaches the scot and says “Did you know St Andrew was a trasvestite?”.
The scot replies “oh aye..?” and the english man goes and sits back down with friends and tells them he didn’t care.
The third english man then says, “Watch this, i’ll get it done.”
He approaches the scot and says “Did you know St Andrew was english?”, to which the scot replies “Aye, your two friends just told me.”
Nice result for Alan Solomons in the Challenge Cup today:
London Welsh 6/24 Edinburgh
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