EDINBURGH have handed former international age-grade sprinter Freddie Owsley his debut on the left wing in tonight’s European Challenge Cup pool clash against Brive at the DAM Health Stadium.
The 25-year-old – who represented Great Britain U20 in the 200m, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m, and who was crowned national 400m U20 Champion before earning a place in the British indoor and outdoor senior 200m finals – signed for the capital club from the Bristol Bears academy set-up last summer.
While his game-time this season has been limited a couple of appearances for the Southern Knights Super6 team, Edinburgh assistant coach Calum MacRae explained that Owsley has impressed with his application and attitude at training since arriving at the club.
“The thing with Freddie is that we’ve seen big potential, that’s why we recruited him to the club,” said MacRae. “It has taken a bit of time and he has had to be patient for his opportunity, but he’s done really well in training the last couple of weeks.
“To be fair to him, he’s been really positive in those timeframes when he’s had to be patient, and this is just a really good opportunity for him to now test himself at the next level having worked so hard for it.
“He’s extremely quick,” MacRae added. “I guess it is a different speed to what we get from Darcy Graham, which is that quick change of direction in close spaces. With Freddie being that track athlete, when he gets into open space you can see that other gear like we used to expect from Duhan van der Merwe previously.
“And the good thing about Freddie is because of that 400m background he’s also got a bit of endurance, he’s got repeatability.”
The concern with former athletes turning to rugby is that while they can be dangerous with ball in hand, their reading of the game and defensive solidity can often leave a lot to be desired. However, MacRae insisted that he has no major concerns on that front with Owsley.
“He came from Bristol where they’ve got a slightly different system to us s there are certain system principles we’ve been working hard with him on,” he said. “But, in all fairness, he’s not just from an athletics background, he’s clearly played a fair bit of rugby. I remember watching some footage of him playing sevens when we were having a look at him, and he’s got a great touch on his left foot in order to give himself an opportunity.
“So, there’s more rugby in him than people will perhaps give him credit for just because he comes from a different sporting background.”
There is 11 personnel and two positional changes in total to this Edinburgh starting fifteen compared to the side which ran out for the narrow defeat away to London Irish last weekend.
Five Scotland internationalists return to the squad, with Graham, Mark Bennett, Dave Cherry and Hamish Watson all starting, while Stuart McInally is on the bench.
It is also a big occasion for New Zealand-born tighthead prop Angus Williams, who is on a partnership contract with Watsonians and making only his second start for the club.
“I’d class Angus as a Tom Smith type who’s a quiet guy who just goes about his business under the radar but is very diligent in how he applies himself,” said MacRae. “It’s really important to have Scottish-qualified players coming through in the front-row.
“We have seen the work that Angus and Harrison Courtney [another Watsonians Super6 front-rower who has been named on the bench] have completed and we’re really excited to see how these guys challenge themselves against the likes of Pietro Ceccarelli [the former Edinburgh prop]. Brive have got a strong set-piece game and a really good defensive line-out. So, for guys coming in it will be a really stern test but one they’re looking forward to.”
Meanwhile, second-row Glen Young is making his first start for the club after three-and-a-half months side-lined with a pectoral injury following his move north from Harlequins during the summer.
Edinburgh know that they need a win tonight to keep themselves in the hunt for a top three finish in their Challenge Cup pool. Their final pool match is at home to Pau on the weekend of 8th-10th April.
Teams
Edinburgh (v Brive at DAM Health Stadium, Friday @ 8pm): E Boffelli; D Graham, M Bennett, C Hutchison, F Owsley; B Kinghorn, C Shiel; P Schoeman, D Cherry, A Williams, G Young, G Gilchrist©, J Ritchie, H Ritchie, M Kunavula. Substitutes: S McInally, H Courtney, W Nel, M Sykes, B Mancaster, H Pyrgos, C Savala, H Immelman.
Brive: T Laranjeira©; V Tirefort, G Galletier, S Galala, P Tournebize; T Abzhandadze, E Sanga, H Thompson-Stringer, V Karkadze, P Ceccarelli, V Lebas, A Zafra Tarazona, S Cerqueira, O Giorgadze, S Fa'aso'o. Substitutes: T Acquier, C Thomas, S Bekoshvili, T Ratuva, E Abadie, P Abadie, T Lacoste, A Muller.
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