GRAY TIPPED TO SPOIL SEND-OFF FOR O’CONNELL

GREGOR TOWNSEND has backed Jonny Gray to ruin the legendary Paul O’Connell’s emotional send-off for Munster tonight. The Irish are desperate to win the Pro12 Final for the former Ireland and Lions skipper before his lucrative summer move to Toulon. But although 21-year-old Gray is a far less experienced figure than his 35-year-old counterpart, Townsend believes he can win their crucial second-row battle as Glasgow Warriors attempt to bag their first silverware. With Leone Nakarawa playing alongside Gray instead of club captain Al Kellock, who drops to the bench, the onus is on the young Scot to call the lineout and starve the 101-times capped O’Connell of the ball. ‘Jonny’s in fantastic form,’ said Townsend. ‘In training, he’s been leading the forwards in everything, whether it be best times for running, highest tackle count, you name it. ‘He’s become a much more effective ball carrier and has a big responsibility yet again in the Final. Al Kellock has been a tremendous help with Jonny, especially this week, making sure he gets it right. ‘Being rested for a couple of games since the Six Nations has kept him in good shape and, although he’s going up against Paul O’Connell, one of the best forwards ever to play the game, I’m confident he can come out on top.’ Explaining the decision to bench Kellock ahead of his final game before retiring, Townsend felt Nakarawa was a better fit to play alongside Gray after they finished the semi-final against Ulster together. ‘Al’s fit, so it was a big selection decision,’ he admitted. ‘Leone was outstanding in the last 20 minutes against Ulster and carried the ball three or four times in our late try. ‘Set-piece-wise, he’s excellent in delivery from the line-out and very fit. He’ll complement Jonny and together they will do well against O’Connell and the Munster line-out.’ Josh Strauss will skipper the team in Kellock’s absence but revealed the club captain will be giving the motivational team talk in the dressing room. ‘It’s an honour to lead out Glasgow but Al is very much the captain in my eyes and he’ll do most of the talking beforehand,’ said the South African.