GLASGOW HAVEN’T been wanting for excellence in midfield in recent weeks but head coach Gregor Townsend has rung the changes there as the Warriors aim to cement their play-off positionvin the Rabodirect PRIO12 against Treviso at Scotstoun tonight, writes Steve Scott, rugby correspondent.
With Sean Lamont out with a rib injury and Peter Horne and Sean Maitland rested, experienced campaigner Graeme Morrison and young centre Alex Dunbar return after injury to form a powerful combination.
“It’s fantastic to have Graeme and Alex back starting for the team,” said Townsend.
“Alex was in fine form until he suffered his injury and it will be great to see him getting back to that level of performance.
“Everyone knows exactly what kind of influence Graeme can have on a match and against a tough side like Treviso, it’s great to have someone of his experience at inside-centre.
“The selection this week again highlights the quality available to us as coaches and the fact that even with three changes to the back-line, it’s still a very strong line-up.”
Townsend also recalls Tommy Seymour to the right wing while there is only one change in the pack after the dominating performance in the 1872 Cup double, Tim Swinson rotating as Al Kellock’s second row partner for Tom Ryder.
Like the Warriors, Treviso won both ends of their derby double-header against Zebre but Townsend’s side are going for a notable double this week, having won in the Veneto back in October.
While happy with the double over Edinburgh, Townsend accepted that the Warriors could and should have done even better over the two legs.
He continued: “We were disappointed not to have picked up bonus points in both our games against Edinburgh and, although defensively we were superb and our scrum was a real weapon for us, there are still areas we need to improve upon.
“Our discipline needs to be better and all the players know that there are chances we should have taken in terms of scoring tries in the last couple of games.”
Glasgow (vs Treviso, tonight, Scotstoun, Rabodirect PRO12, ko 7.30pm):
Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Alex Dunbar, Graeme Morrison, DTH Van der Merwe; Ruaridh Jackson, Henry Pyrgos; Ryan Grant, Dougie Hall, Moray Low; Tim Swinson, Al Kellock (capt); Josh Strauss, Rob Harley, Ryan Wilson.
Replacements: Pat McArthur, Gordon Reid, German Araoz, Tom Ryder, James Eddie, Niko Matawalu, Duncan Weir, Peter Murchie.