One of Scotland’s most promising back prospects will not face legend Brian O’Driscoll as he prepares to make his professional debut for Glasgow Warriors in their final game of the season against Leinster in Dublin tonight.
Eighteen-year-old Mark Bennett, the outstanding player for Scotland Under-20s this year and reportedly coveted by some big-spending French clubs, will make his debut as the Warriors seek to move him from their Elite Development Programme into a full contract.
Bennett’s brilliant running was one of the few bright sparks of the junior Six Nations for Scotland and he will still be eligible for that level next year, while he has also been impressive playing for Ayr in Premier One and the British and Irish Cup.
Sadly he won’t get a baptism of fire against O’Driscoll, who is rested after helping lead Leinster to the Magners League final by beating Toulouse in Dublin last week.
Warriors head coach Sean Lineen said of Bennett, “The lad has real talent. He’s raw but he’s good enough and he’s added a renewed energy to training this week.
“I’ve got no worries about him physically he’s a young lad but he’s tough and this experience will be good for him.
“It’ll be a big test but I wouldn’t put him in there unless I thought he was good enough and we’ve had a pretty good track record with the youngsters that we’ve brought through.
“He’s ready and I’m really excited to see what he can bring to the backline.”
Glasgow also bring in Duncan Weir to start at stand-off in place of Ruaridh Jackson, while Peter Murchie starts at full-back where he is expected to challenge for a full-time slot with the impending departure of Bernie Stortoni.
“Duncan has a really strong kicking game and he runs well,” Lineen continued. “It’s just a matter of developing his shaping of the game and his understanding of the game.
“He’s a top lad, is willing to learn and it is great for him to go over to Dublin and play in between Chris Cusiter and Graeme Morrison against the form team in Europe and measuring himself against some quality players.”Home advantageThe last nine encounters between the two sides have all gone to home advantage Leinster’s only loss in nearly three years at home was the Magners Grand Final last year.
“They’re a massive challenge-one we are looking forward to,” added Lineen.
“I think they are the form team in Europe. They are certainly very consistent, they have a very strong squad and they play a brand of rugby that everyone wants to aspire to.”
Glasgow Warriors team vs Leinster (Magners League, RDS, Dublin, today KO 7.05pm):Peter Murchie; Federico Aramburu, Mark Bennett, Graeme Morrison (capt), DTH van der Merwe; Duncan Weir, Chris Cusiter; Ryan Grant, Fergus Thomson, Moray Low; Aly Muldowney, Tom Ryder; James Eddie, Richie Vernon, Johnnie Beattie. Replacements: Dougie Hall, Jon Welsh, Kevin Tkachuk, Robert Harley, Chris Fusaro, Colin Gregor, Ruaridh Jackson, Peter Horne.