Two matches in for Warriors and two Hawks callups
Gary follows Greg Francis (who played for them in France) into the Warriors squad lineup


The Herald reports
McMillan aiming to impress on return for Warriors

KEVIN FERRIE August 22 2008
Mark McMillan will be a key figure for a Glasgow Warriors side looking to show it can capitalise on rugby's new rules when the scrum-half enjoys his homecoming in tonight's pre-season friendly against Bristol.

Capped at Scotland A level, the Stirling County product leapt at the chance to leave London Wasps, where he had won an impressive collection of medals, and rejoin his old club, making the call himself to Sean Lineen rather than letting his agent inform the Warriors head coach that he was ready to come home.

While he played a dozen matches for them before heading for the English Premiership three years ago, where he spent a season with Leeds before joining Wasps, McMillan scored his first try for the Warriors to steal the win over Castres that ultimately let his side win a tournament in France earlier this month. That only heightened his excitement about what is to come this season.


"What was great about that was that we were in a game where we were down, but we were fitter than them and seemed to want it more than they did," he said.

"Everyone here shares the same enthusiasm and desire and that was a real team try."

Certainly the omens are good because that was McMillan's first game back, whereas on his original Glasgow debut, against Celtic Warriors, he thought he had scored a try only to have it disallowed.

A lively individual, McMillan should be well suited to rugby's new laws, which provide more room around the scrum so demand even greater awareness of what options are available. As he noted, tonight's friendly ought to provide a clear chance to show what sort of extra opportunities that may bring given the nature of the opposition.

"Bristol defend very similarly to my old club so we know what to expect there and they have a big, physical pack which is quite gnarly," he said.

McMillan would have been in Scotland this weekend had he stayed with Wasps because they visit Edinburgh at Murrayfield tomorrow. It is too soon for him to say that the Warriors are ready to contest European honours with the likes of the Londoners, but he said: "It seems a wholly different set-up here now with real expectation and belief that we can start to really challenge and we will be looking to start as we finished last season."

Warriors won their last five Magners League matches in 2007/08 and start this season's campaign against Newport Gwent Dragons on September 5.

Warriors R Jackson; L Fa'atau, M Evans, AHenderson, T Evans; D Parks, M McMillan; EKalman, D Hall, M Low, O Palepoi, D Turner, K Brown, J Barclay, R Vernon. Replacements: E Milligan, G Strain (Hawks), A Kellock, R Gray, C Forrester, J Beattie, C Gregor, D Gibson, HO'Hare, C Kinloch

This article was originally posted on 22-Aug-2008, 07:27 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 22-Aug-2008, 07:36.