Edinburgh have announced their team to face the newly Dan Parksified Cardiff Blues on Saturday (available on S4C, k/o 1830):
Edinburgh: Chris Paterson, Lee Jones, Ben Cairns, Alex Grove, Tim Visser, Phil Godman, Mike Blair, Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford, Geoff Cross, Fraser McKenzie, Scott MacLeod, Alan MacDonald, Netani Talei, Roddy Grant (capt)
Replacements: Andrew Kelly, Kyle Traynor, Jack Gilding, Craig Hamilton, Scott Newlands, Greig Laidlaw, David Blair, John Houston
Quite an exciting back division with last years golden boy Tim Visser and new flyer Lee Jones on the wing plus Alex Grove, if they can click quickly it could be fun, and of course there is the return of Mossy. The pack looks a little lightweight without Jim Hamilton, but still it’s good to see many of the front line players ready for the start of the season. Jamie Roberts, Gethin Jenkins and Ben Blair will all be missing but Cardiff have plenty depth. Plus you get a Parks vs Godman Scotland trial early in the season too – clever of Rob Moffat to have a go at Parks early in the week, that sort of thing never backfires! He must have been hanging out with Warren Gatland.
Glasgow face Leinster at home, that one’s live TV on BBC Alba and most likely radio coverage on BBC Scotland (Friday night, k/o 1905), so you can practice the time-honoured technique of watching the TV but listening to Scottish radio commentary you honed while watching the Six Nations…
Glasgow: Bernardo Stortoni (capt), DTH van der Merwe, Max Evans, Graeme Morrison, Federico Aramburu, Ruaridh Jackson, Henry Pyrgos, Jon Welsh, Fergus Thomson, Moray Low, Tom Ryder, Richie Gray, Ryan Wilson, Chris Fusaro, Richie Vernon.
Replacements: Pat MacArthur, Ed Kalman, Ryan Grant, Aly Muldowney, Rob Harley, Duncan Weir, Hefin O’Hare, Peter Murchie
It looks a little bit weaker with Glasgow seriously struggling for experience at the moment with losses to injury or transfer. However the second row pairing of Richie Gray and former England U19 Captain (but Scottish qualified) Tom Ryder is interesting, and the Argentinian wing Aramburu has seemed up for it during the pre-season. Fergus Thomson will be looking to lay down a serious challenge to Ross Ford at national level if he can get a solid string of appearances, while the young back row will be looking to show that it is not all about the Killer Bees – R for Ryan, R for Richie, R for FusaRRRo?
