Glasgow Warriors’ and Edinburgh Rugby’s impressive starts to the 2018/19 Heineken Champions Cup have been almost equally rewarded by Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend in his starting XV to face Wales this weekend. 

Townsend has named eight Warriors and seven Edinburgh players in the Scottish team for the game at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday. 

Glasgow bounced back from a Round 1 home defeat to Saracens by beating Cardiff Blues 29-12 at Cardiff Arms Park to rise to second in Pool 3, while Edinburgh also recovered from a narrow Round 1 defeat, at Montpellier, by thumping RC Toulon 40-14 at home to climb to second in Pool 5. 

Full-back Blair Kinghorn is the sole Edinburgh player in the Scotland backs, where Glasgow Warriors scrum-half Ali Price and fly-half Adam Hastings will transfer their club partnership to the international stage. 

However, Edinburgh dominate the front and back rows, with Allan Dell and W.P. Nel either side of captain Stuart McInally at hooker, while Jamie Ritchie and Hamish Watson link up at flanker with vice-captain Ryan Wilson in the No. 8 position. 

Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham is the only uncapped player in the matchday 23 and so could earn his first cap on Saturday.