You can only imagine the hideous pasting Gary Graham copped when he walked into the Scotland camp last month.

A year ago, the Scotland-born flanker was training with Eddie Jones' England. In a newspaper article, he was quoted in pretty explosive terms, suggesting just how much he'd love to play against the country of his birth and - I paraphrase - prove a point.

How times change. Graham fell just short of winning an England cap and, according to Gregor Townsend, has now committed to following his father George, the former Scotland prop.

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Graham's former Newcastle team-mate Ally Hogg reckons Jones was making a political point, with Scottish Rugby looking harder than ever for qualified players south of the border.

"Jones used him as a bit of a guinea pig, which wasn't fair on Gary. He'd only played a few games for Newcastle when he was called up," former Scotland back-row Hogg said.

"Knowing what Eddie Jones is like, it was probably more of a warning shot to Gregor that he's taken a few English players and he might do vice versa."

Cockerill's got his Scotland players back, but it's a colossal Fijian who might give him the biggest boost.

Viliame "Bill" Mata has been in sensational form this season. Dean Richards reckons he's "one of the best number eights in the world".

His dynamic ball-carrying is phenomenal and his game intelligence is really impressive too.

Mata is the top carrier in both the Pro14 and Champions Cup this term, with his European haul standing at 42 across two matches.

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Falcons are brutally depleted, but it's a very different scenario for Edinburgh.

Cockerill welcomes back a raft of rested Scotland players, who were off last week following their autumn Test exertions.

Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham and Henry Pyrgos feature in the backs.

Up front, captain Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Grant Gilchrist, Ben Toolis, Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie start.

Thrown in South African Pierre Schoeman at loose-head and Scotlnd props Allan Dell and Simon Berghan on the bench, and Edinburgh will fancy their chances of splintering Newcastle's makeshift front-row.

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Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill tells BBC Scotland the club told EPCR they were "happy" for Falcons to register another prop.

"They've got three fit props, they're all loose-head props. Lockwood is going to have a crack at tight-head and they've come here to have a contest," Cockerill said.

"We rang EPCR and said we're happy for them to bring extra bodies in to make it a fair contest. But regs are regs and we're at where we're at."

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Iain Carter
BBC Sport commentator at Murrayfield

Newcastle have big front-row problems. David Wilson is out at tight-head and, with the squad down to its bare bones, they are a man down on the bench with Sami Mavinga covering both tight and loose-head positions. What price uncontested scrums before the night is out?

Props have been dropping like flies - or more accurately collapsing like elephants - down Newcastle way this week.

Dean Richards was already without Jon Welsh, Craig Mitchell and Paul Mullen. Three more tight-heads got injured on Wednesday and Thursday, stretching his front-row stocks to their very limits.

England veteran David Wilson was named to start but he's not fit enough to play. Neither is replacement Trevor Davison.

So, loose-head Sam Lockwood starts in the number three jersey and only one prop, Sami Mavinga, is named on the bench.

Newcastle say they tried to register another prop but tournament organisers EPCR would not let them.

Newcastle Falcons' fabulous victories over Toulon and Montpellier have propelled them to the top of Champions Cup Pool 5.

Edinburgh lost narrowly at Montpellier, picking up a losing bonus point against Vern Cotter's men, then thumped Toulouse at Murrayfield.

This double-header could go a long way to deciding who finishes top and books their place in the quarter-finals. It would be a heck of an achievement for either of these two.

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