Edinburgh have matured this year into a side which is Scotland's best and are currently riding high in the Celtic League. Their best win this year was a deserved home victory over Toulouse, and they also reached the Celtic Cup final only to put in a poor first half against Ulster and lose despite a spirited three try fight back in the second half.

Fabien Pelous of Toulouse said 'Edinburgh are better than Scotland'. Well that might be faint praise these days, however he is right and it is because of two men. By far the main influence at the Gunners is ex All Black skipper Todd Blackadder who leads by example and is immensely respected by his team. The other antipodean in the team Brendan Laney has also found a rich vein of form since falling out of favour with Scotland.

The Forwards

Edinburgh's front row is chunky and mobile. Jacobsen and Smith are strong runners and can be surprisingly quick. Scrummaging is not seen as their greatest strength and they have been experimenting with newcomer Mathieson as a starter, and bringing on Smith (who hails from York) as an impact player.

The second rows are Murray well known from his ZP days, and Hines. As expected they form a strong line out combination and are both mobile runners. Both had excellent games against Toulouse combining with the front three to often drive opponents back with their quick rucking and clearing and low driving style at the fringes.

The back row is well balanced with Blackadder relishing the dog role and Taylor roving around in attack and defence in classical No8 style. Blackadder makes the hard yards around the base of the rucks and mauls and seldom loses possession. Taylor is a quick runner but can outrun his immediate support. Most recently the other back row starter has been young prospect Simon Cross.

How will the Tykes fare upfront? Our front row options are limited due to injuries, but in other circumstances it is an area we would expect to do well. It is not Edinburgh's game to play a game based on attrition so the pack should fare better than against Tigers and Sarries. Mobility will be the key as Edinburgh will run the ball. It is important that Palmer is on top form and Phil Davies picks his quickest back row combination with some height thrown in two to match Taylor in the line out at the back.

The Backs

The player getting all the attention of the Scottish media is newly found fly half Chris Paterson and many will be looking forward to the contest between him and Ross. Paterson is an elusive runner and a generally reliable kicker from hand. Tactically his lack of experience recently at fly half was his downfall and he failed to vary his game in the first half of the Celtic Cup Final with Ulster. He is also slim framed and whilst he can tackle he is not a stopper in the JW mould. Inside him at scrum half is the young Scottish international Mike Blair. Again he is not the biggest but he has an extremely quick break and needs watching.

Brendan Laney at No12 is seen as the perfect complement to Paterson, and he has been doing the business for the Gunners. Generally he takes the place kicks, in a relaxed but mostly effective fashion. At this level his reading of the game and ability to carve a half break has been impressive. His usual centre partners are either Di Rollo or Philp. Philp is the larger and quicker of the two and has been used as an impact player.

The regular back three are not big men but they are pacey and combine very well together. Lee at full back is a very reliable catcher of the ball and is very happy to counter attack. The wings Joiner and Webster also are happy with the ball in hand, so expect Edinburgh to run it wide, and (Mr Ross, Mr Cardey) kick poorly to this back three at the Tykes's peril.

So we have potentially two exciting back lines on show. Expect to see some fireworks between the No10s as each tries to prove a point, and between Laney and Snyman as they go head to head. If Tykes are to profit it must be by attacking the No10 and centre channel, whilst being wary of the quick support play of the Scottish back three in counter attacks.

Current form and home advantage favours Edinburgh. Rest assured that there is absolutely nothing the Scottish and Celtic League side would like better than to send a Zurich Premiership side 'homeward tae think again'.

Edinburgh's strengths are their team spirit, support play, and speed at recycling combined with a potentially dominant line out. Their weaknesses are an inability to sustain their brand of play over 80 rather than 40 minutes; and when they meet a really big and dominant pack and a highly aggressive defence which can turn over their lighter backs.

The Tykes have to find from somewhere the form they showed in the first game of the season against Tigers to get anything in Edinburgh, otherwise they will find bleak Meadowbank very bleak indeed.

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