BLAIR'S BACK IN BIG TIME.

Byline: Roddy Duncan

EDINBURGH boss Rob Moffat will throw in Mike Blair from the start for the first time this season when Euro champions Leinster come calling.

Moffat's Magners League table toppers go into battle with the Irish side at Murrayfield on Saturday.

And he reckons the return of Lions star Blair can inspire them to a fourth tri-umph on the trot.

The Scotland skipper has been used sparingly since the start of the campaign with Moffat restricting him to cameo appearances from the bench.

But now the coach believes Blair's batteries are fully recharged in the wake of the energy-sapping Lions tour of South Africa.

Moffat was quick to assure deputy scrum-half Greig Laidlaw he has done a brilliant job - but reckons Blair is the man who can make all the difference up against the star-packed Dubliners.

He said: "Greig has been great. However, when Mike came on against Ulster in Belfast last weekend he made a massive impact. He is our captain and everyone knows just how good he is.

"We felt this was the right time to bring him back into the line-up."

Fellow Scotland ace Nick de Luca will also make his first full appearance of the season, ousting John Houston from inside-centre.

Moffat also stressed Houston had done nothing wrong at Ravenhill when he said: "We are looking to manage the squad carefully over the course of the season.

"There is a lot of rugby coming up in the league, Heineken Cup and the autumn Tests. You have to look at the big picture and can't rely on just 25 guys to get you through a season.

"Last campaign we used 36 and I am sure the same will happen this time round."

Edinburgh: C Paterson; M Robertson, B Cairns, N de Luca, T Visser; P Godman, M Blair (capt); K Traynor, R Ford, G Cross, C Hamilton, S MacLeod, A MacDonald, A Hogg, R Grant. Subs: A Kelly, A Jacobsen, R Grant or D Young, S Turnbull, S Newlands, G Laidlaw, J Houston.

CAPTION(S):

STARTER'S ORDERS: Mike Blair