THE GLASWEGIAN REPORTS

Scotland Legend Peter Wright Backs Warriors Stars To Light Up Six Nations
Feb 4 2010 By Matthew Leslie

SCOTLAND can do well in this year's Six Nations and Warriors stars can be the aces in their pack says Glasgow Hawks boss Peter Wright.
The Old Anniesland supremo who won 21 caps at prop-forward for Scotland believes Andy Robinson's men are capable of a good campaign with Glasgow talent being the key.
Scotland kick off at Murrayfield this Sunday with tournament favourites France the visitors.
However, Marc Lievremont has left out one or two key names from his squad -most notably Cedric Heymans and Maxime Medard -and coupled with Scottish confidence on a high after THAT win over Australia, this clash is set up to be a thriller.
Wright said: "There is a lot of optimism surrounding this fixture but two years ago we had that and France won easily.
"However, lets be positive. We have a new coaching set-up in place and coming off the back of a good autumn series, I'd say the glass is half-full.
"We are building the nucleus of a very good side right now and if they play to their potential, then a surprise could well happen.
"With France, you never know what they will bring to the table. In fact, going by what Lievremont has done in the past, they might see this game as one of the easier ones as experimient with some new faces as a couple have been left out and two more are currently suspended.
"If he does then maybe we can catch them cold and who knows?
"But, all the same, this is going to be a massive task. French rugby is on a high this season with four of their teams reaching the last eight of the Heineken Cup.
"However, we have some good players ourselves such as the Evans brothers of whom I would both pick for this one.
"Thom can turn on the gas at will and if we can get the ball to him he can cause France some problems.
"I would go with him and (former Warriors ace) Sean Lamont on the wings. Andy used Simon Danielli on the wing but I'd go with Thom as Simon is a bit suspect with the ball behind him and - as the Fiji game showed - has question marks over his defence.
"Thom's brother Max, pictured, should get the number 13 shirt as Max has the physical edge that Ben Cairns doesn't and is quick on his feet."
As for the age-old question of who should play at fly-half, Wright reckons there's a place for Dan Parks but only if he's down to start.
He added: "I would go with Dan from the start myself as he's the player on form right now.
"However, I suspect Andy is still inclined towards starting with Phil Godman and if he does that then I feel Dan won't be on the bench as he'll want to include Chris Paterson.
"But whoever plays at fly-half, they will need plenty of ball and that depends on the pack fronting up.
"I think they can do that as Glasgow and Edinburgh have competed well against French sides in Europe these past two years so this has the potential to be a great game."
Of the tournament's outcome itself, Wright reckons whoever wins it will not do it via a grandslam.
He continued: "This one will be tight and I don't see one team dominating it like the past two seasons. "All the major teams bar Italy can inflict a defeat over the other and I think this will happen.
"I would have my final table as: 1. France, 2. Ireland, 3. Scotland, 4. England, 5. Wales, 6. Italy."

This article was originally posted on 4-Feb-2010, 14:56 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 4-Feb-2010, 14:56.