Preview: Glasgow v Leinster
With two Magners League fixtures in as many days, Leinster have named a much-changed side to take on Glasgow at Firhill this Friday.
With two Magners League fixtures in as many days, Leinster have named a much-changed squad to take on Glasgow at Firhill this Friday.
Michael Chieka's table-topping province will host Connacht on Wednesday before making the trip over to face the Warriors in quick time.
And that testing schedule has forced Leinster to tinker their side that will run out in Scotland, with Bernard Jackman leading an inexperienced XV.
Young blindside Rhys Ruddock starts in a pack alongside fellow Leinster Academy back-row forward Paul Ryan, who has impressed for the province in recent weeks.
Ireland international trio Jackman, Trevor Hogan and Mike Ross also feature, while Fergus McFadden starts at centre alongside Eoin O'Malley.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have made two changes, one enforced, to the team that defeated Ulster last weekend.
Scotland captain Chris Cusiter is given the nod at scrum-half, moving Mark McMillan to the bench, whilst Hefin O'Hare takes his place on the wing as DTH van der Merwe is unavailable due to a dead leg.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow's game, Cusiter said: “It's a huge game for the club. We need to get the four points to keep moving up the table.
“There are just two games to go and we know that if we don't take advantage of this opportunity then the season could come to a pretty quick end.
“The teams that win and do well are the teams that perform at their best at this time of year.
“We need to produce our best rugby to secure a place in the play-offs and the boys are feeling fresh so I think we're in a good place to do that.”
New signing for next season, National Academy stand-off Duncan Weir, is named on the bench alongside Rob Dewey who is back fit following a season plagued by injury.
Form: Glasgow Warriors have won back to back matches in the Magners League against Newport Gwent Dragons and Ulster. Glasgow's only defeat in their last seven encounters at Firhill in all competitions was 7-30 to Cardiff Blues on 19 February. The Warriors are going for a clean sweep of home wins against Irish opponents this season. Table-topping Leinster visit Connacht on Wednesday evening, and have won their last three games against Scottish opponents. The last seven encounters between the two teams have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst Leinster's most recent win in Glasgow was 18-21 at Firhill Stadium in the Magners League in May 2006.
The teams:
Glasgow: 15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 Colin Shaw, 13 Max Evans, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Hefin O'Hare, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alastair Kellock (c), 4 Tim Barker, 3 Moray Low, 2 Fergus Thomson, 1 Kevin Tkachuk.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Ed Kalman, 18 Dan Turner, 19 Calum Forrester, 20 Mark McMillan, 21 Duncan Weir, 22 Rob Dewey.
Leinster: 15 Ian Madigan, 14 Simon Keogh, 13 Eoin O'Malley, 12 Fergus McFadden, 11 Michael Keating, 10 Paul O'Donohoe, 9 Chris Keane, 8 Stephen Keogh, 7 Paul Ryan, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Ciaran Ruddock, 4 Trevor Hogan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Bernard Jackman (capt), 1 Ronan McCormack.
Replacements: 16 Jason Harris-Wright, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Mark Flanagan, 19 Dominic Ryan, 20 David Moore, 21 Kyle Tonetti/Brendan Macken, 22 Andrew Conway.
Date: Friday, April 21
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Venue: Firhill