Planet Rugby

Preview: Castres v Glasgow

14th December 2012 11:17

Sean Maitland

Starting: Sean Maitland

Glasgow Warriors have handed former Crusaders finisher Sean Maitland the full-back shirt for their Heineken Cup away clash with Castres on Sunday.

Head coach Gregor Townsend has made nine changes in total to the side that was defeated by the same opposition last week at Scotstoun Stadium as they travel to France for the Pool 4 reverse fixture at Stade Pierre Antoine.

"It would be a great achievement to go out and win in France, but we've selected a team capable of playing a high-tempo game, which is what we'll need to do in order to beat Castres," he said.

"We have some very dangerous runners in the backline, five of whom have played on the wing this season. There is pace throughout the side and I'm also looking for a hard edge from the forwards over at Stade Pierre-Antoine.

"We must be much improved in our accuracy from last week's performance, which was well below the standards we demand of each other. It wasn't a true reflection of what this group has produced this season.

"Castres grew in confidence the more we failed to hold on to ball and were as strong in the set-piece as we predicted they would be. They will be even better at home, but I expect to see a very different performance from us on Sunday."

John Barclay takes the captain's armband and will start in the back-row alongside James Eddie at blind-side with Ryan Wilson at number eight. 

Moray Low begins the game at tighthead prop with Gordon Reid on the other side of hooker Pat MacArthur. It's the first game this season that won't feature Mike Cusack who is unavailable due to a shoulder injury.

Tom Ryder, who has just signed a new contract to keep him at the Warriors until at least May 2015, will partner Tim Swinson in the second-row.

The changes continue into the backline with Maitland involved from the start in the number fifteen jersey.

Sean Lamont moves in one from his usual spot on the wing and will, on his fiftieth appearance for the Warriors, occupy the outside centre position with Peter Horne, impressive in the last two outings, retaining his spot at number 12.

Ruaridh Jackson is recalled to the stand-off position with Niko Matawalu also earning the nod to start at scrum-half. DTH van der Merwe - also making his fiftieth appearance in a Warriors shirt - and Tommy Seymour, the clubs two leading try scorers take up the wing positions.

"This is just one in a big series of games we're involved in over the next few weeks and we need to be at our best in each of these encounters," Townsend continued.

"This weekend gives us an opportunity to perform and produce a rare win in France but do that we need to be sharper, more accurate and get back to scoring tries."

Meanwhile, Castres will be looking a victory that would keep the pressure on Pool leaders Ulster. There is currently a six-point gap between the duo as the French side looks to make it back-to-back wins over Glasgow.

The teams:

Castres: 15 Romain Teulet, 14 Paul Bonnefond, 13 Romain Cabannes, 12 Rémi Lamerat, 11 Marcel Garvey, 10 Rémi Tales, 9 Thierry Lacrampe, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Yannick Caballero, 6 Jannie Bornman, 5 Iosefa Tekori, 4 Matthias Rolland, 3 Michaël Coetzee, 2 Mathieu Bonello, 1 Mihaïta Lazar.
Replacements: 16 Brice Mach, 17 Karena Wihongi, 18 Saimone Taumoepeau, 19 Christophe Samson, 20 Ibrahim Diarra, 21 Thomas Sanchou, 22 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 23 Brice Dulin.

Glasgow: 15 Sean Maitland, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Peter Horne, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Niko Matawalu, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 John Barclay, 6 James Eddie, 5 Tom Ryder, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Moray Low, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 George Hunter, 19 Nick Campbell, 20 Rob Harley, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Graeme Morrison, 23 Byron McGuigan.

Date: Sunday, December 16
Kick-off: 13:45 (12:45 GMT)
Venue: Stade Pierre Antoine
Referee: Andrew Small (England)
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth (England), Roy Maybank (England)
Television match official: David Grashoff (England)

Comments

Be the first to comment on this story..


Character Count : 0/1900

Forthcoming Fixtures
FixtureDetails
All times are local
International Match
Sunday , May 26
England vs BarbariansEngland vs Barbarians Preview
More International Match fixtures
Aviva Premiership
Saturday , May 25
Leicester vs NorthamptonLeicester vs Northampton Preview
More Aviva Premiership fixtures
RaboDirect PRO12
Saturday , May 25
Ulster vs LeinsterUlster vs Leinster Preview
More RaboDirect PRO12 fixtures
Top 14
Friday , May 24
Toulon vs ToulouseToulon vs Toulouse Preview
Saturday , May 25
Clermont Auvergne vs CastresClermont Auvergne vs Castres Preview
More Top 14 fixtures
Super Rugby
Saturday , May 25
Blues vs BrumbiesBlues vs Brumbies Preview
Western Force vs HighlandersWestern Force vs Highlanders Preview
Southern Kings vs CheetahsSouthern Kings vs Cheetahs Preview
Stormers vs RedsStormers vs Reds Preview
Sharks vs BullsSharks vs Bulls Preview
More Super Rugby fixtures
Recent Results
FixtureDetails
All times are local
Super Rugby
Friday , May 24
Chiefs 28 - 19 CrusadersChiefs vs Crusaders Report
Melbourne Rebels 24 - 22 WaratahsMelbourne Rebels vs Waratahs Report
More Super Rugby results
Heineken Cup
Saturday , May 18
Clermont Auvergne 15 - 16 ToulonClermont Auvergne vs Toulon Report
More Heineken Cup results
Super Rugby
Crusaders 23 - 3 BluesCrusaders vs Blues Report
Bulls 35 - 18 HighlandersBulls vs Highlanders Report
Waratahs 28 - 22 BrumbiesWaratahs vs Brumbies Report
Cheetahs 27 - 13 RedsCheetahs vs Reds Report
More Super Rugby results
Amlin Challenge Cup
Friday , May 17
Stade Francais 13 - 34 LeinsterStade Francais vs Leinster Report
More Amlin Challenge Cup results
Super Rugby
Hurricanes 12 - 17 ChiefsHurricanes vs Chiefs Report
Melbourne Rebels 30 - 21 StormersMelbourne Rebels vs Stormers Report
Western Force 13 - 23 SharksWestern Force vs Sharks Report
More Super Rugby results
Aviva Premiership
Sunday , May 12
Saracens 13 - 27 NorthamptonSaracens vs Northampton Report
Saturday , May 11
Leicester 33 - 16 HarlequinsLeicester vs Harlequins Report
More Aviva Premiership results
RaboDirect PRO12
Leinster 17 - 15 GlasgowLeinster vs Glasgow Report
More RaboDirect PRO12 results
Top 14
Castres 25 - 12 MontpellierCastres vs Montpellier Report
More Top 14 results
Super Rugby
Blues 36 - 32 Melbourne RebelsBlues vs Melbourne Rebels Report
Southern Kings 34 - 27 HighlandersSouthern Kings vs Highlanders Report
Waratahs 21 - 15 StormersWaratahs vs Stormers Report
More Super Rugby results
RaboDirect PRO12
Friday , May 10
Ulster 28 - 17 ScarletsUlster vs Scarlets Report
More RaboDirect PRO12 results
Top 14
Stade Francais 19 - 16 Racing Metro Paris
Toulouse 33 - 19 Racing Metro ParisToulouse vs Racing Metro Paris Report
More Top 14 results
Super Rugby
Chiefs 22 - 21 Western ForceChiefs vs Western Force Report
Reds 32 - 17 SharksReds vs Sharks Report
Cheetahs 34 - 39 HurricanesCheetahs vs Hurricanes Report
Sunday , May 5
Brumbies 23 - 30 CrusadersBrumbies vs Crusaders Report
More Super Rugby results