Ulster Rugby v Edinburgh

HENRY PYRGOS OPPOSITION THREE TO WATCH

Edinburgh won’t be short of leaders this season, with the signing of former Scotland captain Henry Pyrgos from Scottish rivals, Glasgow Warriors. After the loss of Sam Hidalgo-Clyne to Scarlets, scrum- half Pyrgos brings valuable talent as a accurate kicker and a shrewd master of the game. The Dorchester-born Scotland international brings strength in depth to a No.9 jersey also shared between the likes of Nathan Fowles and Sean Kennedy. Scoring 114 points in eight years at Glasgow – Pyrgos arrives with a point to prove and a determination to lift a second career Guinness PRO14 title. After a successful two-year spell south of the border at Gloucester Rugby, Scotland international Matt Scott has returned to his first club, Edinburgh. The 27-year-old, who has 39 Scotland appearances to his name, brings a game-breaking ability to Edinburgh’s attacking game after scoring 17 tries in 34 games for Gloucester. Scott, who has recently returned from a three-month spell on the sidelines, should link up well with Mark Bennett or Juan Pablo Socino in midfield. Having played just three international games since moving to England – he will be hoping to make an immediate impact this season and earn a return to Gregor Townsend’s international set-up. After breaking into Edinburgh's first XV at the beginning of the 2017/18 season, 27-year-old Johnstone signed a two-year deal to remain at the club on a full-time basis. A former Scotland Sevens star, Johntone burst onto the World Series Sevens circuit in 2013. The abrasive centre represented Scotland at the Rugby World Cup 7s in Moscow that same year, before competing in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.  He finished as Scotland’s second highest try-scorer for the season in 2015/16, crossing the whitewash on 22 occasions and he played a pivotal role in Scotland’s historic cup win in the final leg of the 2015/16 Series in London. He has amassed a staggering 40 caps for the Sevens side.

MATT SCOTT

JAMES JOHNSTONE

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