Gibbins captain as eleven internationals return

Nov 2 • General News • 1899 Views • Comments Off on Gibbins captain as eleven internationals return

Callum Gibbins will captain Glasgow Warriors as Leinster come to Scotstoun for the second time in two weeks.

Gibbins arrived from the Hurricanes this summer and has quickly cemented himself as a fans favourite in Glasgow.

He will lead a side that sees eleven players involved in Autumn International squads recalled.

George Horne is rewarded for his man of the match performance against the Southern Kings, retaining the number nine shirt and will start alongside his brother Pete in a Glasgow jersey for the first time.

Nick Grigg and Ruaridh Jackson both return from a week at Oriam to slot into the starting line-up.

Sam Johnson joins Grigg in the centre while Lelia Masaga and Niko Matawalu start on the wings.

Jamie Bhatti, George Turner and Scott Cummings could all be in line to make their Scotland debuts this Autumn, they all pack down in the tight five and are joined by D’Arcy Rae and Tim Swinson.

Rob Harley joins captain Gibbins in the back-row while Matt Fagerson will steer the back of the scrum.

On the bench Alex Dunbar returns from an injury he sustained against Cardiff Blues in September. Henry Pyrgos and Leonardo Sarto are the other returning internationals involved.

Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Dave Rennie said: “It’s been a different week, we’ve had 19 guys in camp with Scotland but we’ve just got on with things.

“Tactically things aren’t going to change from the last time we played Leinster we just need to do things better.

“Cully (Callum Gibbins) has been here all week helping the team prepare which made making him captain a pretty simple decision.

“He’s a good man, he’s earned the respect of his teammates through the way he plays and contributes an awful lot to this club. He was the obvious choice to be captain tomorrow night.”

Glasgow Warriors team to play Leinster in the Guinness PRO14 on BBC ALBA (kick-off 7.35pm). You can also follow the action on Twitter @GlasgowWarriors. Glasgow Warriors appearances in brackets:

15. Ruaridh Jackson (121)

14. Lelia Masaga (2)

13. Nick Grigg (29)

12. Sam Johnson (30)

11. Niko Matawalu (80)

10. Peter Horne (124)

9. George Horne (5)

1. Jamie Bhatti (14)

2. George Turner (8)

3. D’Arcy Rae (31)

4. Tim Swinson (105)

5. Scott Cummings (25)

6. Rob Harley (169)

7. Callum Gibbins (6) CAPTAIN

8. Matt Fagerson (13)

Replacements:

16. Pat MacArthur (160)

17. Alex Allan (58)

18. Adam Nicol (3)

19. Lewis Wynne (16)

20. Matt Smith (5)

21. Henry Pyrgos (133)

22. Alex Dunbar (102)

23. Leonardo Sarto (13)

Unavailable players: Adam Ashe (ankle), Brian Alanu’uise (knee), Fraser Brown (knee), Rory Hughes (shoulder), Oli Kebble (foot), Paddy Kelly (ankle), Ratu Tagive (achilles), Richie Vernon (achilles).

Zander Fagerson (Scotland), Jonny Gray (Scotland), Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Lee Jones (Scotland), Huw Jones (Scotland), Ali Price (Scotland), Finn Russell (Scotland), Tommy Seymour (Scotland), Ryan Wilson (Scotland).