Fotu Lokotui gets first start for Glasgow against Dragons

David Skippers
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Glasgow Warriors head coach Danny Wilson has made two changes to his starting line-up for Saturday’s rescheduled PRO14 fixture against Dragons at Scotstoun.

In the forwards, Fotu Lokotui makes his first start for the club since signing at the start of the 2020/21 season, replacing the injured Tom Gordon at openside flanker.

There is also a solitary change in the backs. Niko Matawalu is selected to start in place of Ratu Tagive who moves to the bench.

Following a spirited victory on the road to Cardiff Blues last Sunday, Wilson has opted to keep the remainder of his starting XV the same. Aki Seiuli, Grant Stewart, and Enrique Pieretto once again form the front-row.

Meanwhile, Lewis Bean and Kiran McDonald pair up in the engine room. Rob Harley is set to make his 238th appearance from the club, he starts on the blindside flank, Lokotui is on the openside and Ryan Wilson is at number eight and is captain once again.

Sean Kennedy and Pete Horne join forces at scrum-half and fly-half respectively for a fourth successive game. On the wings, Matawalu is joined by Lee Jones for his second start since returning from injury. Jones deservedly retains his position having won Player of the Match last Sunday.

Nick Grigg and Robbie Fergusson are the centres, and Glenn Bryce completes the starting line-up at full-back.

On the bench, second-row Hamish Bain is the only new addition from last week’s outing. If he takes to the field on Saturday, he will make his fifth appearance for the club. The other replacements are Johnny Matthews, Alex Allan, D’arcy Rae, TJ Ioane, Jamie Dobie, Brandon Thomson and Tagive.

Meanwhile, Dragons wing Jared Rosser will make his 50th appearance for the region and lock Ben Carter will make his full league debut on Saturday.

Rosser, who lines up on the wing at Scotstoun Stadium to hit his milestone, is one of six changes made by director of rugby Dean Ryan.

Dragons Academy product Carter is handed his first league start with the Wales U20s ace lining up alongside Matthew Screech in the second-row.

A new-look front-row sees hooker Ellis Shipp make his first start of the season alongside tighthead Aaron Jarvis.

Taine Basham is called up to wear the number seven jersey. Harrison Keddie moves across the back-row to blindside flanker.

The final change sees centre Jack Dixon named in the backline alongside Jamie Roberts to form a powerful midfield combo as Dragons look to build on the victory over Benetton in Italy.

Prop Chris Coleman and back-row Huw Taylor are named among the replacements with Wales international centre Nick Tompkins also selected.

The teams:

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Glenn Bryce, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Robbie Fergusson, 11 Niko Matawalu, 10 Pete Horne, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Ryan Wilson (c), 7 Fotu Lokotui, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Kiran McDonald, 4 Lewis Bean, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Grant Stewart, 1 Aki Seiuli
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Alex Allan, 18 D’arcy Rae, 19 Hamish Bain, 20 TJ Ioane, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Ratu Tagive

Dragons: 15 Josh Lewis, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Jack Dixon, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Rhodri Williams (c), 8 Ollie Griffiths, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Harrison Keddie, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Ellis Shipp, 1 Brok Harris
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Conor Maguire, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Joe Maksymiw, 20 Huw Taylor, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Owen Jenkins

Venue: Scotstoun
Kick-off: 19:15 GMT
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Keith Allen (Scotland), Graeme Ormiston (Scotland)
Television match official: Neil Paterson (Scotland)

Dragons