Rees: Young bloods need to stand up
MATTHEW Rees has told his young Cardiff Blues troops to stand up and be counted or face a Glasgow mauling.
The Blues travel to the Scottish capital this afternoon to face a Warriors side desperate to keep the heat on pool leaders Saracens as they chase a spot in the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals.
It might be mathematically impossible for the Blues to progress, but Rees insists his side are up for the challenge as he returns to captain John Mulvihill's side.
“We’ve picked a young squad this weekend which means a lot of players get an opportunity to step up,” Rees said.
“They’ve got to take that jersey and make sure they put in a good performance for themselves and for the region. Glasgow have got threats all across the park.
“They put a lot of emphasis on their attack and their back-three is very potent. We’ve got to be at our best in defence.
“It’s going to be a tough game especially with them losing their last three games so they’ll be desperate to get a result because they want to qualify. As professional rugby players whenever you take the field you’ve got to put in a good performance.”
Wing Tom James returns for Blues for the first time in over a year after time out to deal with depression.
Hooker Rees skippers the side in his first appearance since last March after suffering a knee injury.
Right wing Owen Lane, a contender for Wales' Autumn Test squad before injury struck in October, is also back while fly-half Jarrod Evans returns on the bench.
Glasgow have selected a full-strength side with Stuart Hogg, right, returning to alongside wing Tommy Seymour and outside-half Brandon Thomson.
“We need to be sharper than we have been in recent weeks because this is a massive game for us in the context of Europe and we’ve picked the side accordingly,” said Glasgow head coach Dave Rennie.
“The last three weeks have been disappointing, but we’ve created a lot of opportunities in those games and just haven’t been as clinical as we’ve needed to be. The quality of our decision making has to be better.” Rob Harley will become the first player in Glasgow Warriors history to reach a double century of appearances in this match as they look to put an end to their recent poor form. Harley, a 28year-old second-row, signed for Glasgow in 2010 and has been a key member of the squad ever since, scoring a try in the 2015 PRO12 final.
Co-captain Ryan Wilson will also reach a personal milestone by playing his 150th game for the club in the back-row.
Former South Africa U20s cap Thomson is given the nod at stand-off, Adam Hastings dropping to the bench and Pete Horne nursing a knee injury.
It is a big chance for Thomson who has found game time this term hard to come by. Props Oli Kebble and D’Arcy Rae return to the starting XV along with nine other changes.