Connacht need pack to perform

Edinburgh v Connacht Murrayfield, 4.0Michael Bradley won't care one whit his Cardiff counterpart Dai Young thought the Welsh side should have won the match by 25 or 30 points last weekend. Connacht prevailed and in doing so gave themselves a perfect tonic for what promises to be a demanding season with the ultimate carrot, the possibility of a place in next season's Heineken European Cup.

Squeaking a win in matches like this one would bring it closer to reality. History favours the Irish province in that the team playing away from home has tended to prevail in clashes between the sides. That will be offset by the knowledge Edinburgh enjoyed a superb victory away to Llanelli last week.

Edinburgh have problems in filling their backrow, one contender being the New Zealand-born former Ulster back-five player Matt Mustchin. Connacht recall Ray Hogan - he was selected for the Cardiff game but withdrew injured - in place of Dan McFarland at loosehead.

If Connacht are to be successful it'll require a big performance from their pack.

Edinburgh go into this match on the strength of a fine win, arguably the most compelling argument in what should be a close game.

EDINBURGH GUNNERS: F Leonelli; C Paterson (capt), M Di Rollo, R Dewey, S Webster; P Godman, M Blair; D Hewett, D Hall, C Smith; A Kellock , S Murray; (backrow from) A Hogg, S Taylor, M Mustchin, S Cross, A Strokosch. Replacements: A Kelly, A Jacobsen, F Pringle, AN Other, R Lawson, D Hodge, H Southwell.

CONNACHT: D Slemen; M Mostyn, D Yapp, K Matthews, C McPhillips; P Warwick, C Keane; R Hogan, J Fogarty, S Knoop; C Short, A Farley (capt); J Muldoon, M Lacey, C Rigney. Replacements: C Venter, D McFarland, R Loughney, M Swift, B O'Connor, T Tierney, D Riordan.

Referee: Neil Ballard (Wales).

Head to Head - August 2001 (CL) at Sportsground: Connacht 21 Edinburgh Gunners 30; September 2003 (CL) at Sportsground: Connacht 11 Edinburgh Gunners 3; November 2003 (CC semi-final) at Sportsground: Connacht 25 Edinburgh Gunners 26; February 2004 (CL) at Meadowbank: Edinburgh Gunners 17 Connacht 32; October 2004 (CL) at Sportsground: Connacht 24 Edinburgh Gunners 35; March 2005 (CL) at Murrayfield: Edinburgh Gunners 13 Connacht 16.

Verdict: Edinburgh to win.