On the wing: DTH Van Der Merwe
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Glasgow will hope to back up their impressive 60-3 win over Dragons when they run out to face PRO12 leaders Ulster at Scotstoun Stadium.
In team news for Friday, Peter Horne has been handed the fly-half jersey on his 50th appearance for the Warriors as head coach Gregor Townsend makes six changes to the starting XV seeking to build on last week's record victory.
Horne, who has recovered from the fracture that kept him out of the Scotland squad for the Six Nations has been given the task of orchestrating from the pivot in the top of the table battle.
The Warriors sit seven points behind Ulster.
"We played some very good rugby last week and scored some excellent tries but I believe there is more to come from this group of players," said Townsend.
"We know we have to perform at those high levels week in and week out when we are competing against sides as good as Ulster.
"We have faced them three times already this season and we're yet to win one, so we're determined to put that right.
"Peter brings another dimension to our play and will lead what is an exciting back division. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do on Friday night.
"We are now entering the business end of the season, where each match has ramifications on the play-off positions. We will be playing six out of the top seven sides in the next two months and we'll have to be at our best to succeed."
The Warriors have won their last five PRO12 matches and haven't tasted defeat in the league since a 0-6 reverse to Leinster back in November but the Warriors will again call upon talent from the club game as their front-row continues to be in-demand or out injured.
Ryan Grant, Jon Welsh and Moray Low are all on Scotland duty while Gordon Reid has not been passed fit after suffering concussion at the weekend in the game against Dragons. EDP prop George Hunter is still recovering from a foot injury suffered in December while Mike Cusack is recovering from a shoulder injury.
It means a second start this season for Tongan prop Ofa Fainga'anuku and a return to starting duties for Ed Kalman. The front row is bolstered by the inclusion of Pat MacArthur.
Meanwhile, Ulster coach Mark Anscombe has made eleven personnel changes to his team for this weekend's RaboDirect PRO12 encounter.
Neil Walsh and Conor Joyce will start in an Ulster shirt for the first time after being named on the left wing and back-row respectively. Walsh made his debut as a late replacement in last week's win over Zebre, while Joyce's previous appearance was in the 2011 Boxing Day defeat to Leinster.
The side will be captained by tighthead prop John Afoa, who is joined in an all-new front-row by Nigel Brady and Callum Black. Dan Tuohy and Neil McComb come in to the second row in place of regular skipper Johann Muller and Lewis Stevenson. Robbie Diack, the only forward retained from the Zebre fixture, will again start at eight and will combine in the back-row with Joyce and Ali Birch.
With Paddy Jackson starting for Ireland this weekend, Anscombe has called upon Paddy Wallace to direct affairs from fly-half. The backline reshuffle also results in Andrew Trimble moving to outside centre where he is partnered in midfield by Stuart Olding, who produced an impressive performance off the bench last weekend. Michael Allen will line up on the right wing for his twelfth cap, with Walsh on the opposite flank. Ruan Pienaar (scrum-half) and Ricky Andrew (full-back) complete the backline.
Form: Glasgow Warriors have won their last five RaboDirect PRO12 encounters since their 3-31 defeat in Munster on 1 December. The Warriors' only loss at Scotstoun in the tournament since early September was 0-6 to Leinster on 23 November. Glasgow have won just one of their last seven fixtures with Irish provinces: 27-17 at home to Connacht on 21 September. Ulster remain at the top of the RaboDirect PRO12 table despite having a won 2, lost 2 record from their last four contests. The Ulstermen have lost only one away game in any competition this season: 10-24 at Munster in the PRO12 on 29 December, whilst they have won their last seven games against Scottish opponents in all tournaments. The Warriors' solitary victory over Ulster in their last seven meetings was 17-9 at Firhill on 25 November 2011.
The teams:
Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Peter Horne, 9 Niko Matawalu, 8 Ryan Wilson (capt), 7 John Barclay, 6 Josh Strauss, 5 Tom Ryder, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Ed Kalman, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ofa Fainga'anuku.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Luke Pettie, 18 Garry Mountford, 19 Nick Campbell, 20 James Eddie, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Scott Wight, 23 Graeme Morrison.
Ulster: 15 Ricky Andrew, 14 Michael Allen, 13 Andrew Trimble, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Neil Walsh, 10 Paddy Wallace, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Ali Birch, 6 Conor Joyce, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Neil McComb, 3 John Afoa (capt), 2 Nigel Brady, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Ricky Lutton, 18 Andrew Warwick, 19 Alan O'Connor, 20 Mike McComish, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Darren Cave, 23 Chris Cochrane.
Date: Friday, February 22
Kick-off: 19:35
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: David Changleng (Scotland), Adrian Graves (Scotland)
Television match offical: Iain Ramage (Scotland)
Assessor: Andy Clift (Scotland)
Comments
99call says...
Irishzimbabwean
Tuohy made a come back a few weeks ago from a hamstring injury but it was too early and he only lasted 20 odd minutes, that set him back he did come on against Zebre last week but only at the end, this will be his first start so yes youre right it would be far better to have him there on the bench for Ireland and maybe even starting but hes not match fit in any way but I would expect to see him in the Irish squad for the French game as long as he gets through this game in one piece
Posted 13:34 22nd February 2013
Irishzimbabwean says...
99call - what is the story with Dan Tuohy? Is thisa his comeback game? If not - why is he not on the bench for Ireland instead of the Giraffe on Ice which is Toner?
Posted 12:18 22nd February 2013
dodgyrog says...
strange ulster side with darren cave on the bench and andrew trimble at outside centre. front five are very solid and the backs are very quick. shpuld be a very good game.
Posted 13:25 21st February 2013
99call says...
Trimble at centre, hopefully this will be a sign of things to come, no offence to Cave and Wallace but I would love to see our centre combo being Marshall and Trimble going forward.
Lets be honest with all the wingers floating around the national side if I was Trimble Id be pushing to play in the centres as I dont see him getting a look in on the irish wing again unless there are a number of injuries but I do see him getting back to were it all started for him in the middle of the park and getting in the mix for the centre positions with the obvious retirements on the horizon
An Ulster/Ireland centre combo of Marshall/ Trimble or Marshall/ Bowe or Trimble/ Bowe Id be happy with any of those
Posted 13:13 21st February 2013