WARRIORS V LYON
Rennie rings the changes for crucial match
IT could be misinterpreted as betraying over-confidence, but the eight changes made to the Glasgow Warriors side that will seek to complete back-to-back wins over Lyon at Scotstoun today instead have the look of an intelligent maximisation of the use of formidable resources.
Head coach Dave Rennie and his team were fully rewarded last weekend for backing their own judgement when overlooking players who had been regularly involved in Scotland’s autumn Tests in favour of those who had not as they headed to France and secured a bonus-point win.
With Lyon out of contention for a quarter-final place as a result of that 42-22 defeat which left them rooted to the bottom of pool three without so much as a losing bonus point, the biggest threat to the home side this weekend, then, was that players might be affected by the complacency many of their supporters will doubtless bring to Scotstoun this weekend.
The reintroduction of seven internationalists, in particular combative co-captain Ryan Wilson and autumn Test regulars Ali Price and Huw Jones, will surely guarantee that there is no danger of that, however, as they seek to prove him right in believing that this is just as strong a side as claimed last week’s victory.
“We have good competition for places and that is reflected in our selection,” said Rennie. “If you put the same squad out as last week, maybe deep down the guys would think it was going to be a little bit easier than it is. We’ve made a number of changes which we don’t think weakens us at all. We know they’ve got nothing to lose and can just come over and play and express themselves. That makes them potentially dangerous, so we’re keen to put out a strong side and make sure we’ve got plenty of edge about us.”
While batches of selections have regularly been made in advance this season, mostly tweaking only when addressing injury problems, the importance of this particular brace of Heineken Champions Cup matches seems to have been reflected in the approach taken.
“Often in the PRO14 we plan a few weeks ahead, trying to manage certain international players and so on, but we had not picked the side for this game, it was going to be a wait-and-see,” said Rennie. “We have a few guys who we are trying to manage and others we are trying to give opportunities to.”
Along with that international septet, the inclusion of Stafford McDowall meanwhile demonstrates extraordinary confidence in the 20-year-old centre who signed his first senior contract just a few days ago after impressing greatly while senior international players were away in November.
“We are very happy with what Stafford has put on the park in the last four or five weeks,” said Rennie. “He has a very good skill set with regards to distribution and kicking, a massive work ethic and provides a bit of size, but his composure has impressed most. It is a big game for him, but he has good players around him.”
He may not have had that opportunity had international regular Alex Dunbar been fully fit. However, having released Dunbar to play for Ayr last week, Rennie seemed to suggest the youngster would had this chance either way, saying: “It’s a position where we’ve got a lot of depth. Alex played pretty well for us before going into the Scottish camp. In that group Peter Horne played pretty well, so did Huw ()Jones) and both Stafford and Nick and were excellent for us. It’s a bit of a juggling act. Alex had a bit of club footy last week for Ayr and just tweaked his shoulder a little bit, so we didn’t consider him, but it is a very competitive spot.”
McDowall is not the only youngster set to get a chance this weekend since 21-yearold winger Robbie Nairn, one of the 14 men who shocked the Scarlets on his first start for Glasgow last month and hooker Grant Stewart are both on the bench, the latter perhaps set for a run of opportunities after it was revealed that Scotland hooker Fraser Brown underwent knee surgery in midweek and will be out for around two months. Meanwhile, fellow front-row forward Oli Kebble has signed a new deal that will keep him at Scotstoun for the next two years.