UK Edition
Glasgow Warriors to test themselves in Montpellier despite exit from Europe
Dave Rennie must have had that old line about how “rugby does not build character, it reveals it” on his mind when he named his side to play at Montpellier in the Champions Cup on Saturday night.
Although Glasgow Warriors can no longer progress in the competition after three successive losses, the Kiwi has named as strong a side as injuries allow in an effort to build a head of steam going into the 1872 Cup against Edinburgh.
The one exception is his decision to put Finn Russell on the bench, a selection that is designed to help Rennie discover if Peter Horne is capable of taking over at stand-off after Russell leaves this summer.
According to the coach, there is no better way to assess Horne than to start him in front of a passionate 15,000 crowd at the Stade Altrad in a game which Montpellier, one of the form teams of the Pro 14, need to win by a bonus point to keep up their Champions Cup hopes. “We were keen to give Peter a crack at 10 in a really big game,” said Rennie. “We anticipated that Montpellier will probably have their best side on the field because it’s a huge game for them, so it’ll be a real pressure cooker against one of the best sides in Europe. It’s a chance for us to see Pete running the ship because we’re probably looking ahead, not just for the rest of this year, but beyond Finn departing.
“I’m a big fan of the way Pete plays. He has got a really good skill set, he’s a real student of the game and has got an ability to challenge and demand of others, so it will be a really good matchup between him and Aaron Cruden. We definitely see Peter as a strong candidate for next year, although obviously Adam Hastings has gone well for us and we have got Brandon Thomson in behind them too.”
Glasgow are missing a slew of top players on Saturday, with Stuart Hogg, Adam Ashe, Callum Gibbins, Sam Johnson, Rory Hughes, Leonardo Sarto and Tim Swinson all injured, while Huw Jones’s hand is absent undergoing tests for damage, but is expected to be fit for next week’s 1872 Cup tie at Murrayfield.
Hooker George Turner is banned for four weeks after last week’s off-the-ball hit on Montpellier’s Louis Picamoles, and is replaced by Fraser Brown. Rennie admitted he was disappointed by the length of the suspension, but quipped: “George regrets the situation. He will learn from it and in the end we still love him; he has been great for us.”
Rennie said that as well as using Saturday evening’s game as a means to show due respect to the tournament by being determined to win in France, Glasgow also need to effect a shift in momentum ahead of the back-to-back 1872 Cup matches.
“We are keen to rip into this,” he said. “I said we weren’t going to send a B team over; I think we have a pretty competitive side on the paddock. It’s a great opportunity for those guys to make a statement.”
Team details
Glasgow Warriors (v Montpellier, European Champions Cup, 1pm GMT) R Jackson; T Seymour, N Grigg, A Dunbar, L Jones; P Horne, A Price; J Bhatti, F Brown, Z Fagerson, K McDonald, J Gray, R Wilson (captain), M Smith, S Vunisa.
Replacements P MacArthur, A Allan, S Halanukonuka, S Cummings, C Fusaro, G Horne, F Russell, N Matawalu.