"Nick Oswald"
"Following the example"
"WELCOME TO MYRESIDE,home of George Watson's College, for our vital Welsh/Scottish League match against top-of-the-table Newport."
"We extend a special welcome to the Black and Ambers who have been in fine form in the league, averaging over 29 points per match and leading the try scoring charts by some eight tries with 37 touch downs."
"Celtic League quarter-finalists, they have enjoyed splendid home form, winning all five league matches but have proved occasionally vulnerable on the road. Their home form, clever marketing and carefully planned off-field strategies have attracted an average home gate of 8,302 which, in a little over two seasons, has seen an astonishing average gate increase of 800%. Newport now sit fourth in the British club rugby charts for home crowds behind Leicester, Northampton and Gloucester - a remarkable achievement in such a short space of time."
"We have made good progress ourselves this season and our home gates for league matches are up 400% on last season, with a solid core support of around 2,500. The challenge now is to increase that core support year-on-year and Newport is a club we have developed a special relationship with to exchange ideas and to learn from. Indeed it is anticipated that two supporters buses have made the long journey from Newport to be here and we hope that they enjoy tonight's match and their stay in Edinburgh."
"The move to playing at one venue on a Friday night has worked well this season and Myreside is a fine home stadium. However, after our Virgin Train inter-city derby match against Glasgow on Friday 22 February (k.o. 7.30pm - having postponed the two Hughenden matches what excuse will the Weegies come up with this time?!) George Watson's College require the stadium for athletics from early April onwards. That means we need to play our remaining three home matches at a different venue and we will make a formal announcement about this shortly."
"A special season ticket is available for our final five home matches of the season. If you purchase one tonight, you can watch our remaining fixtures for the bargain price of £30. Season tickets are available from the information booth tonight and through the Edinburgh office next week. Phone 0131 346 5252 for further details."
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank our main sponsor, The Edinburgh Evening News for their magnificent support this season and grateful thanks also to Radio Forth and Aitken and Niven our other significant sponsors."
"Thanks are also due to George Watson's College for the use of the venue and their help in staging the match and to Boroughmuir RFC for the provision of ball boys."
"Starting Afresh"
"by David Kelso"
"AT LONG LAST it is back to Welsh/Scottish League business for Edinburgh as they go head-to-head with Newport here at Myreside."
"With so little live action over the past few weeks it almost seems like the start of a fresh campaign - and in many respects it is exactly that."
"Edinburgh, of course, made a very shaky start to their league business back in the late summer and their aim is to make amends by staging a strong comeback over the final two or three months."
"Newport, who have been stringing together some superb results, are themselves well in the hunt for the championship and they will be busting a gut to secure a precious haul of away points."
"Coach Frank Madden will be without the services of Lions breakaway forward Simon Taylor this evening, following a request from Scotland supremo Ian McGeechan to allow the player a break in the build-up to the Six Nations encounter with Italy next weekend in Rome."
"This should not be regarded as a negative factor. As Edinburgh manager, Ian Rankin, stressed: "Simon is an extremely important member of the Scotland squad and one of our remits as a pro-team is to help produce as strong a national team as possible." McGeechan, who has also grounded Glasgow's Jason White and Gordon Bulloch for tomorrow's tussle with Pontypridd at Sardis Road, explained: "It is hard telling guys they can't play when they desperately want to but this particular trio are on a 10-day recovery programme after the England game."
" "Management of players is extremely important, especially at this stage of the season, and the pro team coaches Richie Dixon and Frank Hodden understand this. It is a case of finding a balance of how much they do and when they do it". "
"It was heartening to see Duncan Hodge being backed by his Scotland squad-mates in the aftermath of last weekend's disappointment."
"Perhaps Newport will feel the backlash from Duncan tonight!"