The Glasgow Warriors will host the Cell C Sharks today @ 16h00 at the Scotstoun Stadium in Round 2 of the United Rugby Championship.
Whilst the Sharks, led by Head Coach Sean Everitt and captain Phepsi Bhutulezi, endured a tough introduction to northern hemisphere rugby in last weekend’s defeat by Munster at Thomond Park, there will be no underestimating the four-time Super Rugby runners-up by any of the Warriors this weekend.
The performances the teams put forth in their opening round defeats couldn’t have been more different. Gutsy Glasgow exceeded expectations as they gave Ulster a serious run for their money at Kingspan Stadium while the Sharks were blown out of the water by Munster (42-17).
The Sharks are better than what they showed, but their discipline and desire were equally disappointing. They conceded well over a dozen penalties and their slumped body language revealed a beaten team well before the final whistle went.
Not only were the Warriors far more accurate than the Sharks, but they crucially lived up to their name in the 35-29 away loss to Ulster.
Half the battle for the Sharks will be to match the intensity of the hosts. Big ball carriers like Thomas du Toit and Le Roux Roets will play key roles in the rain and if Curwin Bosch comes to the fore with his booming boot, the Sharks will be in with a shout.
The Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Danny Wilson has made five alterations to his starting lineup.
It will be an all-new front-row that takes to the field for kick-off today, as club co-captain Fraser Brown packs down between Jamie Bhatti and Murray McCallum at the coal face.
Thomas Gordon comes into the starting XV at openside following a knock to Rory Darge, the flanker joining Ryan Wilson and Jack Dempsey in the back-row.
Ross Thompson makes his first competitive start in front of the Warrior Nation after being selected at fly-half, with George Horne partnering the young pivot in the half-backs.
Sione Tuipulotu makes his competitive home debut at the outside centre after impressing on his first start for the club last weekend, as the 24-year-old starts alongside Sam Johnson in the Glasgow midfield.
FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academy tight-head Murphy Walker is in line for his professional debut after being selected amongst the replacements, with the 21-year-old having impressed in FOSROC Super6 action for Stirling County in recent weeks.
Back-rower Ally Miller will also make his first appearance in Glasgow Warriors colours should he come off the bench tomorrow afternoon, after the former Scotland 7s star was selected for the first time since his summer move from Edinburgh.
Brad Thyer rotates to the bench after starting last time out, whilst George Turner returns to a Glasgow matchday squad for the first time since last season’s victory over Leinster at Scotstoun.
Lewis Bean wears the number 19 jersey, with Jamie Dobie retaining his spot after his try-scoring cameo off the bench last weekend.
The matchday squad is rounded out by Pete Horne and Stafford McDowall, both of whom could make their first appearances of the 2021/22 campaign tomorrow afternoon.
Speaking following selection, Head Coach Wilson told glasgowwarriors.org: “We’re looking forward to being back in front of a packed out Scotstoun tomorrow afternoon.
“There were a lot of positives to take and some things to work on from last weekend’s game against Ulster we were really physical and played some high tempo rugby, scored some really good tries.
“Tomorrow a couple of boy to get their first opportunity of the season to showcase what they’re about. We’re looking forward to seeing the likes Ally and Murphy take their opportunities when called upon"
“Sharks are a big physical side with some serious gas on the wings. We’re exciting by the challenge they pose and we’ll need to match their physicality in both attack and defence to come away with a win."
The Cell C Sharks' Head coach Sean Everitt has made three changes to his starting line-up, bringing in Fez Mbatha for Kerron van Vuuren at hooker while Ruben van Heerden returns to the starting XV, with Gerbrandt Grobler moving to flank in the place of Henco Venter. In the final change, Murray Koster takes over from Marius Louw at centre.
Koster and replacements Lourens Adriaanse, Thembelani Bholi, James Venter and Tian Meyer all make their URC debuts for the Cell C Sharks.
Cell C Sharks assistant coach John Mcfarland highlighted the positive and negative from their round one match, citing the penalty count, but hinting at the team’s excellent defence. Against the Warriors, tightening up on discipline will have a significant influence on the game.
“The big thing we need to work on is our discipline, the penalties put us under pressure” he admitted. “Munster had 12 entries into our 22 of which 12 came from penalties – that’s the only way they got into our 22. But we’ve made great strides and there has been improvement in our discipline. I think some of the interpretations on the weekend were very different and we have to get used to them, and quickly.”
With the game played on artificial turf, Mcfarland warned that the tempo and pace will be very high which will require plenty of energy on both attack and defence.
“We’re excited about the surface we’re playing on, I think it will be a quicker game and we know Glasgow like to keep the ball in hand, so we have to make our tackles and that’s something we can’t fault the players for last weekend – that was a real positive actually.”
Glasgow Warriors: 15. Cole Forbes, 14. Kyle Steyn, 13. Sione Tuipolotu, 12. Sam Johnson, 11. Rufus McLean, 10. Ross Thompson, 9. George Horne, 8. Jack Dempsey, 7. Thomas Gordon, 6. Ryan Wilson, 5. Scott Cummings, 4. Richie Gray, 3. Murray McCallum, 2. Fraser Brown, 1. Jamie Bhatti. Replacements: 16. George Turner, 17. Brad Thyer, 18. Murphy Walker, 19. Lewis Bean, 20. Ally Miller, 21. Jamie Dobie, 22. Pete Horne, 23. Stafford McDowall.
Cell C Sharks: 15. Curwin Bosch, 14. Yaw Penxe, 13. Werner Kok, 12. Murray Koster, 11. Thaakir Abrahams, 10. Boeta Chamberlain, 9. Ruan Pienaar, 8. Phepsi Buthelezi (c), 7. Gerbrandt Grobler, 6. Dylan Richardson, 5. Ruben van Heerden, 4. Le Roux Roets, 3. Thomas du Toit, 2. Fez Mbatha, 1. Khwezi Mona. Replacements: 16. Kerron van Vuuren, 17. Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18. Lourens Adriaanse, 19. Hyron Andrews, 20. Thembelani Bholi, 21. James Venter, 22. Tian Meyer, 23. Jeremy Ward.