Scotland’s impressive back-row strength in depth will again be underlined tonight when Ross Rennie returns to the Edinburgh side that takes on the Ospreys at Murrayfield. The 22-year-old flanker has been out of action with a knee problem suffered in March, immediately after making his international debut off the bench in the 34-13 Six Nations defeat to Ireland, but he is back, fit and determined to reclaim his Scotland squad place.

Rennie completes a speedy back-row unit in which every player originally made his name as an openside flanker, and Andy Robinson, the Edinburgh head coach, expects them to lay the foundation for a super-fast, all-action style of play that he believes is the secret to undermining the more physical, streetwise Welsh outfit.

Rennie returns to his favourite openside berth, with Allister Hogg, who has won most of his 47 Scotland caps in the No 7 shirt, at No 8 and Alan MacDonald, the Scotland A flanker, switching to the blindside. “It is exciting for me to be involved in a different role,” MacDonald said. “I’m looking forward to getting involved in the lineout, which is something I am normally running away from.”

With six backs having played for Scotland in the past month, including Chris Paterson who has recovered from the blow to the face that forced him off in the defeat to South Africa two weeks ago, Robinson expects the team to start converting more chances, with the extra flanker firepower a key ingredient in his planning. “It says something about the speed of game I want to play,” he said. “It’s a way of developing our style of game. I don’t think picking two specialist opensides will work all the time, but it is important to try to develop it.

“We might get to that situation in the second half of matches, but starting with that combination is a statement about the pace we want to play at. Also, if you look at the balance of the front five, there are some big ball carriers who can free up Ross [Rennie] and Alan [MacDonald] to run support lines and keep continuity going.”

Robinson accepted that his side should have an inbuilt advantage in tonight’s game. Whereas call-ups to the Wales team mean that the Ospreys will have to field almost a second-string XV, he can field a number of combinations that have been together for most of the past month with the Scotland international squad.

However, the coach gave warning to his players not to underestimate their opponents, pointing out that they are bringing a side featuring two All Black caps, some gnarled old heads and a group of players who look destined to become the Wales golden boys, including the recently capped Dan Biggar at fly half. If the Edinburgh players need reminding of the danger posed by this side, they need only talk to their counterparts in Glasgow who faced a similar-strength side in September and lost 21-18.

“They are second in the league, and irrespective of who they are missing, they have Marty Holah and Filo Tiatia, who have been the heartbeat of the team,” Robinson said. “The next month is a big opportunity for us. It is time for us to win these big matches and enjoy their challenges.”

“Every time we play it is about winning and performing at the level we want to reach no matter the opposition. If we were playing the All Blacks, we’d be looking to win. That’s the mentality we have got to have.”

Among the more interesting comparisons of the night will be Nikki Walker on the wing for the Ospreys and Simon Webster filling the same role in his 100th game for Edinburgh. A week ago they were playing together against Canada, and both know the Six Nations selection process has already started. “It is going to be a huge challenge,” Webster said. “The game last week turned out to be relatively one-sided but this one will be totally different.”

P W D L F A T B Pts
Munster 6 5 0 1 147 80 18 2 22
Ospreys 5 4 0 1 125 50 14 3 19
Glasgow 6 3 0 3 104 99 9 3 15
Scarlets 5 3 0 2 120 103 15 1 13
Leinster 6 2 1 3 117 87 8 3 13
Edinburgh 6 2 0 4 98 122 7 4 12
Cardiff Blues 5 2 1 2 120 91 14 1 11
Ulster 6 2 0 4 73 106 8 3 11
N G Dragons 5 2 0 3 64 112 5 2 10
Connacht 6 2 0 4 54 172 5 0 8

Edinburgh: C Paterson; M Robertson, B Cairns, N De Luca, S Webster; P Godman, M Blair (captain); A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross, C Hamilton, B Gissing, A MacDonald, R Rennie, A Hogg. Replacements: A Kelly, G Kerr, M Mustchin, S Newlands, G Laidlaw, D Blair, H Southwell.
Ospreys: T Bowe; K Phillips, D Bishop, S Parker, N Walker; D Biggar, R Webb; P James (captain) , E Shervington, C Mitchell, F Tiatia, L Bateman, S Tandy, M Holah, T Smith. Replacements: M Breeze, C Griffiths, R Bevington, M Collins, J Thomas, R Wells, A Beck.
Referee: J Lacey (Ireland)