RaboDirect PRO12 Season Kicks Off This Weekend

Captain Al Kellock has been recalled to the Glasgow Warriors side to face Cardiff Blues in the opening round of the new RaboDirect PRO12 season at Scotstoun Stadium tomorrow night (kick-off 7.35pm). The Warriors captain will partner impressive new Scotland cap Tim Swinson in the second row, with Scotland under-20 captain Jonny Gray  providing cover amongst the replacements.

With Gregor Townsend already looking for consistency, the only change to the backline which started the 29-26 win over Exeter Chiefs last Saturday is the inclusion of Mark Bennett at outside centre. Sean Lamont moves to the right wing, with Tommy Seymour dropping to the bench.

That means Peter Murchie continues at full-back, Bennett partners Alex Dunbar at centre, Byron McGuigan keeps his place on the left wing after scoring three tries in the last two games, with Scott Wight and Henry Pyrgos pairing up again at half-back.

After an impressive debut from the bench against the Chiefs Jerry Yanuyanutawa starts his first game for the club at loosehead, with Pat MacArthur coming in at hooker and Ed Kalman completing the front row. With competition for back row slots certain to be fierce this year, returning Warrior Richie Vernon starts at number eight, with Chris Fusaro at openside and Rob Harley starting on the blindside.

Ruaridh Jackson has been included on the bench, along with Chris Cusiter, who returned to action last weekend after an 11-month spell on the sidelines.

Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend said: “We’re all really looking forward to getting our new season underway in front of our home support.”“We finished last season with a run of seven straight victories at home and those selected will be doing all they can to continue that form into the new season.

“We had some great nights at Scotstoun last season and our supporters always give the team a huge boost, so I’m sure they’ll get right behind them again tomorrow night.”

Glasgow Warriors team to play Cardiff Blues, RaboDirect PRO12, Scotstoun Stadium, Friday 6 September (kick-off 7.35pm): 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Scott Wight, 9 Henry Pyrgos; 1 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 2 Pat MacArthur, 3 Ed Kalman, 4 Tim Swinson, 5 Al Kellock (Captain), 6 Rob Harley, 7 Chris Fusaro, 8 Richie Vernon
Bench: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Moray Low, 19 Tyrone Holmes, 20 Jonny Gray, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Tommy Seymour

Not available due to injury: Gabriel Ascarate (chest), Mike Cusack (shoulder), Pete Horne (knee), Niko Matawalu (foot), Duncan Weir (ankle), Ryan Wilson (shoulder).

Meanwhile Sean Cox will captain Edinburgh’s RaboDirect PRO12 opener against Munster from the blindside on Saturday night. The second-row will lead in the absence of injured scrum-half Greig Laidlaw (knee), who was today named club captain for the third successive season, equaling Todd Blackadder’s record for the modern era.

Cox is one of eight forwards selected to start the third match in a row; their reward for two physical outings in pre-season – most recently being Friday’s 15-5 win over Newcastle Falcons at Mansfield Park in Hawick.

In the backs Sean Kennedy replaces Laidlaw as one of three personnel changes to the division: Ben Atiga starts at inside-centre and Scotland internationalist Lee Jones returns to the wing, having recovered from the calf strain that ruled him out of the Falcons win.

Their introduction allows Nick De Luca and Dougie Fife to move back to their familiar positions of outside-centre and wing, while promising prospect Sam Hidalgo-Clyne looks to make his competitive debut from the bench, after spending a summer in New Zealand on the Macphail scholarship.

Edinburgh Rugby head coach, Alan Solomons, said: “We said from the beginning that we wanted to get a measure of consistency going into the first game, so being able to have a settled pack makes a big difference to us.

“It’s a reasonably experienced pack who have delivered two solid performances and so have merited their reselection.”

“Unfortunately the backs are not in the same position because we have injuries to key, top flight international players: Greig Laidlaw, our captain, Tim Visser and Matt Scott are all out.”

The hosts have a history of starting well in the competition, with only one defeat in the first round since 2006, while Edinburgh have celebrated their opener just once in the last seven seasons.

They travel seeking to reverse a run of five defeats to the Irishmen in all competitions, with the clubs also sizing each other up ahead of this season’s Heineken Cup Pool, which they open at Murrayfield Stadium in next month.

Edinburgh Rugby team to play Munster at Musgrave Park, Cork on Saturday 7 September (kick-off 7.15pm) – live on BBC ALBA: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Ben Atiga, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Piers Francis, 9 Sean Kennedy, 1 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 Ross Ford, 3 WP Nel, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 6 Sean Cox CAPTAIN, 7 Roddy Grant, 8 David Denton
Substitutes: 16 Aleki Lutui, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Lewis Niven, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Harry Leonard, 23 Jack Cuthbert
Unavailable through injury: Tom Brown (ankle), Steven Lawrie (back), Robin Hislop (leg), Gregor Hunter (knee), Greig Laidlaw (knee), Chris Leck (shoulder), Robert McApline (knee), Stuart McInally (knee), Ross Rennie (shoulder), Matt Scott (ankle), Tim Visser (foot), Nikki Walker (shoulder).