Edinburgh will play pre-season friendlies at home to Connacht and Bath on successive weekends in early autumn, the club have announced. The Irish province will visit on Friday 29 September, while the English Premiership team will head north for the match on Friday 6 October, with both games kicking off at 7.30pm.
A press release announcing the games said they would be played at "the home of Edinburgh Rugby". The capital club’s new ground has been known as the DAM Health Stadium since it opened in September 2021, but it is understood that the naming agreement with the medical company has now expired. A new title sponsor is expected to be confirmed before too long, but in the meantime the ground is being referred to, prosaically though accurately enough, as the Edinburgh Rugby Stadium.
Bath were Edinburgh’s original opponents in European competition back in 1996, and the teams have met several times since. Their most recent meeting was in the spring of 2022 in a Challenge Cup tie, which the Scottish side won 41-19.
Scotland stand-off Finn Russell is now officially a Bath player, having left Racing 92 at the end of the season. However, Russell will be otherwise engaged on Rugby World Cup duty when his new employers head north.
Connacht most recently played Edinburgh in March at home, when they won 41-26. It was a different story in 2022 when they last came to the capital, however, as they lost 56-8.
The game against Connacht is included in Edinburgh's 2023-24 season-ticket package. Season-ticket holders can buy tickets for the Bath match at a 50 per cent discount. Sale dates for both matches will be announced in the coming weeks.
Last week Glasgow announced a pre-season friendly at home to Zebre, on Saturday 30 September at 6pm. The Warriors will also have an away pre-season match against as-yet-unannounced opponents.
