FORMER Scotland Under-20s captain Alex Samuel is set to make his Glasgow Warriors debut from the start against Benetton tomorrow, while Euan Ferrie is in line to make his first appearance off the bench. And Jamie Dobie will make his return from injury in a line-up which is radically different from the one that began the Warriors’ last outing, the 40-12 defeat by the Sharks in Durban two weeks ago.
Only three players who began that match will also start against the Italians tomorrow, and only one of those – Sintu Manjezi, who partners Samuel at lock – is in the same position. Ryan Wilson is another to remain but moves from No 8 to blindside, while Josh McKay shifts from the wing to full-back.
Scrum-half Jamie Dobie makes his return from injury and will partner Domingo Miotti at half-back, while Rufus McLean also features in the back division. In the pack, tighthead prop Murphy Walker has been released from the Scotland squad to make his first start of the season.
“After a disrupted few weeks everyone is looking forward to getting back to playing rugby in front of our home crowd tomorrow evening,” head coach Franco Smith said, referring to the outbreak of illness which forced the cancellation of Glasgow’s match against the Lions last weekend.
“It’s great to be able to welcome Jamie Dobie back into the side and we’re looking forward to seeing Alex and Euan earn their debuts. Tomorrow is another challenge – Benetton out-performed us in the first week and we need to be at our best to rectify that tomorrow at Scotstoun in front of our home crowd.”
Glasgow Warriors (v Benetton at Scotstoun, Friday 7.35pm): J McKay; S Cancelliere, K Steyn (captain), S McDowall, R McLean; D Miotti, J Dobie; O Kebble, F Brown, M Walker, S Manjezi, A Samuel, R Wilson, G Brown, S Vailamu. Substitutes: J Matthews, N McBeth, S Berghan, JP du Preez, L Bean, E Ferrie, S Kennedy, T Jordan.
Benetton: R Smith; I Mendy, J Riera, M Zanon, M Bellini; G da Re, D Duvenage (captain), N Tetaz, F Zani, T Pasquali, S Scrafton, C Wegner, G Pettinelli, S Negri, H Time-Stowers. Substitutes: M Arroyo, T Gallo, F Alongi, M Lazzaroni, A Steyn, A Izekor, A Garbisi, M Watson.
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