Five debutants in squad to face Ospreys

Nov 25 • General News, Guinness Pro14 • 1936 Views • Comments Off on Five debutants in squad to face Ospreys

Dave Rennie will hand five players their Glasgow Warriors debuts as the team look to continue their unbeaten start to the Guinness PRO14 as they travel to Swansea.

Italian international Samuela Vunisa recovered from a knee injury to play club rugby a fortnight ago and will pull on a Warriors jersey for the first time packing down at the back of the scrum.

In front of him lock Kiran McDonald will play his first competitive match for Glasgow, he is joined in the row by Scott Cummings who is one of five players to have been released from Scotland camp.

Callum Gibbins will once again captain the side while Matt Smith starts on the other flank. Alex Allan, Pat MacArthur and D’Arcy Rae all pack down in the front row.

Ruaridh Jackson starts at full back. Joining him in the back three is Lelia Masaga and Leonardo Sarto who is available to play having been released by Italy.

Nick Grigg joins Sam Johnson in the midfield while George Horne and Adam Hastings continue to develop their half back partnership.

Tongan international Siua Halanukonuka is in line to make his debut off the bench having arrived from New Zealand following the conclusion of the Mitre 10 Cup.

BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy’s Hamilton Burr and Kaleem Barreto are also included amongst the replacements, their performances in the BT Premiership catching the eye of the Warriors coaches this season.

George Turner and Lee Jones start on the bench both having been involved in Scotland’s Autumn Internationals against Samoa and New Zealand.

Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Dave Rennie said: “It’s great to get back to the Guinness PRO14 after a couple of weeks to refine our game and mentally refresh.

“It’s an exciting time for a number of men who will make their Warriors debuts against Ospreys.”

Glasgow Warriors team to play Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium in the Guinness PRO14 (kick-off 7.35pm) untelevised. You can also follow the action on Twitter @GlasgowWarriors. Glasgow Warriors appearances in brackets:

15. Ruaridh Jackson (122)

14. Lelia Masaga (3)

13. Nick Grigg (30)

12. Sam Johnson (31)

11. Leonardo Sarto (14)

10. Adam Hastings (2)

9. George Horne (6)

1. Alex Allan (59)

2. Pat MacArthur (161)

3. D’Arcy Rae (32)

4. Kiran McDonald (0)

5. Scott Cummings (26)

6. Callum Gibbins (7) CAPTAIN

7. Matt Smith (6)

8. Samuela Vunisa (0)

Replacements:

16. George Turner (9)

17. Ryan Grant (110)

18. Siua Halanukonuka (0)

19. Hamilton Burr (0)

20. Lewis Wynne (17)

21. Kaleem Barreto (0)

22. Brandon Thomson (4)

23. Lee Jones (63)

Unavailable players: Brian Alainu’uise (knee), Adam Ashe (ankle), Alex Dunbar (head), Matt Fagerson (knee), Robert Harley (knee), Rory Hughes (shoulder), Oli Kebble (foot), Tim Swinson (hand), Ratu Tagive (achilles), Richie Vernon (achilles). Jamie Bhatti (Scotland), Fraser Brown (Scotland), Zander Fagerson (Scotland), Jonny Gray (Scotland), Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Peter Horne (Scotland), Greg Peterson (USA), Huw Jones (Scotland), Niko Matawalu (Fiji), Ali Price (Scotland), Henry Pyrgos (Scotland), Finn Russell (Scotland), Tommy Seymour (Scotland), Ryan Wilson (Scotland).