By Graham Bean

Copyright scotsman

Edinburgh Rugby have brought forward the kick-off time of their game against Ulster in a bid to avoid the worst of Storm Amy. Friday night’s United Rugby Championship fixture at Hive Stadium will now begin at 7pm, rather than 8.05pm as originally scheduled. The Met Office has warned of widespread winds reaching 60-70mph, with the storm upgraded from a yellow to an amber warning in some parts of Scotland. The wind is expected to become worse as the evening goes on and Edinburgh hope the change in time will allow them to complete the game safely. The option of moving the game to Murrayfield was not available due to a new pitch having just been laid in the national stadium. Gates will open at 6pm for the Ulster game for all spectators, including hospitality guests, and indoor provision is being made for pre-match entertainment. A statement from Edinburgh said: “Work is now underway to put additional emphasis on internal spaces for supporters, with an enhanced offering in the Thistle Suite, where live music and games from the Fanzone will now take place, and hot food and refreshments will be served as normal.” Edinburgh Rugby managing director Douglas Struth added: “The safety and experience of our fans have been at the forefront of minds when making this difficult decision and, while it is obviously not ideal to be changing the kick off time on the eve of the game, it is done so with everyone’s best interests in mind. “The change, while challenging, will allow us to stick far closer to the excellent experience we strive to deliver for our fans and we like thank everyone coming to tomorrow’s game for their patience, understanding and support for our opening home game.” Edinburgh have named a strong team for the game as they look to bounce back from a disappointing 31-28 defeat by Zebre in Italy on the opening weekend of the new URC season. Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe, their British and Irish Lions wingers start, replacing Jack Brown and Harry Paterson. It will be Graham’s first appearance since injuring his ankle on his Lions debut in Melbourne. Prop Pierre Schoeman and hooker Ewan Ashman, also both part of the Lions squad in Australia, start, as does flanker Hamish Watson who a member of the 2021 Lions squad. “We’ve got a potential sell-out tomorrow night here at Hive Stadium and the guys will want to do their fans and supporters proud,” said Sean Everitt, the Edinburgh head coach, who blamed individual errors in defence for the loss to Zebre. “We allowed Zebre a couple of easy tries due to lack of concentration through certain individuals, it wasn’t through a lack of understanding of the system, and we can’t allow those type of errors when we’re away from home particularly. “From an attack point of view we scored four tries. We got back into the game really well and then obviously managed to lose the game in the 81st minute, so not everything was wrong on Saturday, but certainly something that we take pride in which is our defence let us down.” The return of Graham in particular is likely to lift both the team and the home crowd as Edinburgh seek their first win of the new season. “It’s great to have Darcy back with his experience,” added Everitt. “He is a world-class player. He’s very creative in his style of play as we all know and he does give the team energy so the team will take a lot of confidence out of having him on the right wing.” Edinburgh Rugby: Wes Goosen, Darcy Graham, Piers O’Conor, James Lang, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben Healy, Ben Vellacott; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D’arcy Rae, Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist, Liam McConnell, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury (CAPT). Replacements: Paddy Harrison, James Whitcombe, Angus Williams, Sam Skinner, Freddy Douglas, Charlie Shiel, Findlay Thomson, Harry Paterson. Ulster Rugby: Stewart Moore, Werner Kok, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Zac Ward, Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak, Callum Reid, Tom Stewart, Tom O’Toole, Iain Henderson (CAPT), Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu, Sean Reffell, Nick Timoney. Replacements: Rob Herring, Sam Crean, Scott Wilson, David McCann, Juarno Augustus, Conor McKee, Jake Flannery, Jude Postlethwaite.