The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Warriors boosted by return of Nakarawa for Pro14 clash with Zebre
Nakarawa back in action as Glasgow face Zebre following lengthy break
Leone Nakarawa will pull on a Glasgow kit for the first time since sealing his Scotstoun return when Warriors host Zebre tonight.
The Fijian second-row rejoined the club last month after being sacked by Racing 92.
He will be joined in Dave Rennie’s line-up by scrum-half George Horne, hooker George Turner and back-rowers Tom Gordon and Matt Fagerson after they were released from training with the Scotland squad to take on Italy, while Kyle Steyn is on the bench.
Rennie’s team are returning to action after a three-week break and the head coach is now hoping to see his side kick on as they look to rescue their Guinness PRO14 play-off ambitions.
“The boys are in good shape,” said Rennie. “They’ve come back in after a bit of a break and we’ve prepared well.
“We’ve played really well over the last few matches, so it’s good to have them freshened up physically and mentally.
“We’ve got a good side going out there, including five players back from Scotland camp.
“They’ve slotted back in seamlessly as you’d expect – they’re guys that have played a lot of rugby for us over the last few months.”
Loosehead prop Oli Kebble will make his first appearance at tight-head in a Glasgow jersey, with the South African joining Turner and Aki Seiuli in the front-row.
Nakarawa is paired alongside the recently re-signed Rob Harley in the second-row.
Ryan Wilson captains the team from the blindside flank, with Gordon and Fagerson back involved too.
Pete Horne lines up at fly-half outside younger brother George, while Nick Grigg partners Stafford McDowall in midfield.
Wings Tommy Seymour and DTH Van Der Merwe start either side of fullback Glenn Bryce in the back-three.
Rennie added: “We’ve got a few injuries at tight-head as well as Zander Fagerson away with the national side, but Oli Kebble put up his hand and was prepared to jump across.
“He’s done a fair bit of scrummaging there recently and he’s a big man who understands our structures. We’re excited and think he can do a job for us.”
Fiji hooker Mesu Dolokoto could make his Glasgow debut from the bench.
Scrum-half Jamie Dobie is in line for a first appearance in three months, having last featured in November’s 50-0 triumph over Southern Kings.
Glasgow Warriors: Bryce, Seymour, Grigg, McDowall, Van der Merwe, P Horne, G Horne; Seiuli, Turner, Kebble, Harley, Nakarawa, Wilson, Gordon, Fagerson.
Replacements: Dolokoto, Allan, Nicol, Swinson, Fusaro, Dobie, Jackson, Steyn.
● Edinburgh return to action tomorrow when they visit Scarlets after a two-week break.
Head coach Richard Cockerill said: “We gave the boys two weeks off. We said before the 13 weeks of games we were having that two-week block as holiday.
“Just refresh mentally as well as physically - obviously it doesn’t apply to the Test boys.
“It was new territory for me, guaranteeing them two weeks before we’d played the games. Because if we’d been really poor, we might not have been having the two weeks’ holiday.”
Cockerill will welcome back Scotland squad players WP Nel, Grant Gilchrist, Nick Haining, Matt Scott, Henry Pyrgos and Luke Crosbie.
● Tomorrow’s Guinness PRO14 clash between the Dragons and Benetton at Rodney Parade has been postponed due to “the extreme weather conditions forecast”.
Storm Dennis is set to follow Storm Ciara in lashing the UK over the weekend and league organisers have made the decision to call off the match in Newport following consultation with the two sides and the Welsh Rugby Union.
A PRO14 statement said the action had been taken “in the interests of supporter and staff safety” and added: “PRO14 Rugby intends to confirm the rescheduled date as soon as possible.”