Preview: Glasgow v Dragons

Editor

Dragons acting head coach Darren Edwards has made three changes to his team to face Glasgow at Firhill on Friday.

Dragons acting head coach Darren Edwards has made three changes to his team to face Glasgow at Firhill on Friday.

Adam Hughes comes back into the side on the wing, with Will Harries moving to full-back as Martyn Thomas recovers from a hamstring strain.

Ashley Smith returns to partner Tom Riley in the centre after a back injury kept him out of last weekend's match, whilst Scott Morgan joins captain Luke Charteris in the second row, with Rob Sidoli moving to the bench.

Aled Brew will make his 22nd appearance of the season for the Men of Gwent, taking him level with Sidoli. Brew is on the verge of setting a new try-scoring record for the Dragons, currently tied with Gareth Wyatt on 29 tries apiece. Jason Tovey and Wayne Evans both start, with Mathew Jones and Mike Petri providing half-back cover. Matthew J Watkins is the other replacement back.

The powerful front row unit of hooker Lloyd Burns and props Phil Price and Dan Way have the chance to build on their impressive work in Italy last weekend, whilst the back row of Andrew Coombs, Lewis Evans and Joe Bearman all keep their places.

Hugo Ellis and Steve Jones are on the bench alongside Hugh Gustafson and Ben Castle, who cover for Price and Way. Darren Edwards will miss the Wales U20s in Italy to be with the team in Scotland.

Glasgow sit eleventh in the Magners League following their defeat away to Connacht last weekend. The Dragons are currently seventh, and a win would lift them considerably closer to Ulster, who are sixth.

Form: Glasgow Warriors have lost four Magners League games in a row since they beat Edinburgh on 27 December, and have been defeated in their last four encounters with Welsh opponents in the competition. The Dragons have won their last three Magners League matches – their best run in the league since season 2004/05. The Welshmen have won just once in Scotland since January 2009: 9-8 at Edinburgh on 1 November 2009. The Warriors did the double over the Dragons in the European Cup this season, but Dragons took the Magners League meeting 23-11 on 12 September. The Men from Gwent have not won at Firhill since a visit there on 9 January 2009.

The teams:

Glasgow: tbc

Dragons: 15 Will Harries, 14 Adam Hughes, 13 Tom Riley, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Joe Bearman,7 Lewis Evans,6 Andrew Coombs,5 Scott Morgan,4 Luke Charteris,3 Dan Way,2 Lloyd Burns, 1 Phil Price.
Replacements: 16 Steve Jones, 17 Ben Castle, 18 Hugh Gustafson, 19 Rob Sidoli, 20 Hugo Ellis, 21 Mike Petri, 22 Matthew Watkins, 23 Mathew Jones.

Date: Friday, 25 February
Venue: Firhill
Kick-off: 19:50 GMT