Price is right for Cheetahs clash

SCOTLAND international Ali Price has been given the chance to kick-start his Glasgow Warriors season after being handed the No9 jersey for this evening’s clash against the Cheetahs. Warriors head coach Dave Rennie has promoted the 25-year-old into his first XV for the game in Bloemfontein after he started the opening two Guinness Pro14 matches on the bench. There is little doubt the pressure is on Price to perform — and not just because two of his scrum-half rivals, Nick Frisby and George Horne, have been included as replacements. Rennie recently revealed that Price had returned to the club from the last Six Nations in less-than-ideal condition, describing him as ‘overweight, heavy and a bit sluggish’, which had subsequently cost him his place in the team at the end of last season. Now the Kiwi insists he is happy to unleash him against the South Africans. ‘Ali is in great nick, very fit and lean and we are really happy with him,’ said Rennie. ‘He is keen and he’s highly motivated. He has trained really well. ‘I expect him to get out there and work really hard and deliver on his core skillset. ‘Was he angry about last season? You’d have to talk to Ali about that. He has come back and worked hard and we want to see the evidence of that. ‘There is plenty of competition for places in our team, so you need to be at your best. Ali is aware of that and he’ll put his best foot forward against the Cheetahs. ‘I don’t have any firm thoughts about who is going to be first choice long-term. They’ve all got different skillsets and strengths. They will all get opportunities. George has started the first couple and Ali gets a crack this week. ‘The reason we have our other two halfbacks on the bench is because we had a bit of sickness and then injury to players like Stuart Hogg, which affected our plans. ‘Fortunately, George Horne is reasonably quick, so he can play wing as well as nine, and Nick Frisby can play nine, ten and 15. It may be a bit unusual, but all the backs still standing on tour are in the mix this week.’ Rennie said he did not want to take a risk with Hogg, who is carrying a slight ankle knock he picked up in the home victory over Munster. ‘I guess we could have pushed it to get him out there, but there’s just too much footy left in the season to risk that,’ said the Kiwi. ‘It’s an ankle issue, but it’s minor. We expect him to be back in training next week. ‘It is good for Ruaridh Jackson to get a start at full-back. He wasn’t stripped for the first two games and he was one of our best players last year, no doubt. ‘We’re fortunate to have such good depth there. Ruaridh’s still been a great contributor in our preparation, so he will slot in seamlessly.’