Peter O’Mahony admits he has been nothing but impressed by Edinburgh’s run to the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup and is relishing a back-row battle royale.
The Munster skipper is set the lead the team in Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon against a home side who have tasted defeat just once this season on their own turf, a two-point Pro14 defeat to Cardiff in February.
They also finished top of a pool containing Montpellier, Toulon and Newcastle.
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Chief among those impressing the 29-year-old Ireland flanker are the men he will go toe to toe with in the 12.45pm kick-off.
"They are three world-class players," O’Mahony told RTÉ Sport.
"Obviously, Hamish Watson had an incredible impact when he came on [for Scotland against Wales] a few weeks ago.
.@HamishWatson7 is having a stormer 💪🏻#SCOvWAL #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/JefdPuSX2u
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 9, 2019
"[They have] incredible experience in John Barclay and Bill Mata has probably been the stand-out player in Europe this year and in the Pro14 so a huge task certainly for us to try and keep them quiet.
"Edinburgh have an incredible record at home this year, they are playing super, the structure that they play, their ability to play has been very impressive.
"I think [coach Richard Cockerill] has done really well for them in the last 18 months to two years. They seem to have flourished under his game plan and they are difficult to break down.
"You know straight away the European weeks [are different] and it’s a little more special when you are talking about knock-out rugby.
"It’s going to take the biggest performance of our season so far to get the win."
