Glasgow today announced their team to face bogey team the Dragons on Sunday but such exciting news as Johnnie Beattie or Ruaridh Jackson’s return to play following injury and Rob Dewey being made the captain has been over-shadowed by the news that they have secured the services of free-agent and pioneer of the Rory Lamont Helicopter move, none other than Rory Lamont himself.
Glasgow commented that they will be looking at getting him registered for European play. He will most likely be eligible for inclusion under rule iv) which allows for an additional player to be added during the Pool Stages provided another player is de-registered, designed presumably to allow for serious injury. The other option is adding players during the knockout stages but an appearance there could be seen as presumptuous still. The unfortunate who would make way is not yet known but could be one of the fringe or Elite Development players who are still getting regular Premier One play rather than massive involvement with Glasgow.
In the long term it is great for Glasgow who will now boast an international-flavoured back division to take up slack when players are away on Scotland duty, and plenty of depth the rest of the time. Hogg, Nathan, Lamont and Dewey can all play along the backline while Van Der Merwe, Arambaru and Lemi are proven try scorers. And that’s before we take into account up and comers like Murchie, Wight, Horne or Dunbar who will be filling out the shirts before long. it might mean a bit less game time for the promising Hogg though who has filled Bernie Stortoni’s shoes capably so far this season, bar the odd rush of blood to the head.
Still it’s good news for Glasgow and I am sure the fans will be happy to see Rory back playing here in Scotland. He won’t quite be ready in time for the RaboDirect PRO12 clash this weekend though, so the team has been announced as follows:
Peter Murchie, David Lemi, Rob Dewey (captain), Troy Nathan, Colin Shaw, Ruaridh Jackson, Henry Pyrgos, Jon Welsh, Dougie Hall, Ed Kalman, Tom Ryder, Rob Verbakel, Calum Forrester, Chris Fusaro, Johnnie Beattie
Replacements: Finlay Gillies, Moray Low, Gordon Reid, Rob Harley, Scott Wight, Ryan Wilson, Alex Dunbar, Murray McConnell
Looks a bit like Glasgow’s version of the Edinburgh team last week, shorn of many big names or the form guys. Gone are Gray, Harley, Barclay, Cusiter, Hogg and Weir. Still, it gives Nathan and Lemi more chances to team up and the likes of Forrester and Beattie to put their hands up for Heineken Cup inclusion next week. Good to see our teams concentrating on Europe but it would be nice to see Glasgow spank the Dragons, just once…
Coverage on BBC Alba, Sunday 4.25pm (repeated at 10pm). It’s also on S4C if you want an English commentary via red button, Dragons biased of course.
2 Responses
Interesting team selection, would be good to see Dunbar get some decent time on the pitch. He’s looked pretty handy when he’s played this season, and we need to starting fleshing out our options at inside centre.
We currently have Morrison and S Lamont, both with serious limitations in that position, and the promising Matt Scott. Not great, really.
Great to hear that Glasgow have one of the Scottish internationals returning instead of leaving. Feel a bit sorry for Stuart Hogg because he’s been playing well but he does need rested and he’ll probably get game time during the 6 Nations.
In terms of the team I think there are a few too many big names and in form players missing. It’s great to see Johnnie Beattie returning, hopefully he’ll have a good game. This is probably going to sound harsh but hopefully Ruaridh Jackson has improved his kicking since last season. I’m a bit surprised to see Chris Cusiter not playing but that could have something to do with the head injury he got last week.