Alastair Kellock returns to skipper Glasgow
The Glasgow team for the visit of the unbeaten RaboDirect PRO12 leaders, the Ospreys, shows six changes from that which beat Dragons 24-19 at the start of October.
There are two switches in the backline, where Chris Cusiter replaces Colin Gregor at scrum-half and Graeme Morrison comes in at inside centre for his 150th competitive Warriors appearance.
Up front, Pat MacArthur replaces Finlay Gillies at hooker, Alastair Kellock and Richie Gray form an all-new second row partnership at the expense of Tom Ryder and Rob Verbakel, while Ryan Wilson will start in the No.8 role that Johnnie Beattie occupied against Dragons, Glasgow’s second straight win over Welsh opposition.
Of the other World Cup Warriors, Dougie Hall and John Barclay will be reintroduced from the bench, while Ruaridh Jackson, Moray Low and DTH Van der Merwe all miss out through injury.
Glasgow coach Sean Lineen said: “It’s an absolutely massive game for us on Friday night, and a real opportunity for the guys to kick on from the wins they’ve recorded away to Cardiff and at home to Dragons in the last two games.
“I’ve some welcome selection headaches, because so many of the players who weren’t involved with the World Cup really put their hands up and impressed in the first six games of the season.
“It’s fantastic to have a good number of our leading international players back in the mix this weekend, and we’ll be looking to them to lead from the front as usual.
“Players like Tom Ryder and Troy Nathan will probably be feeling slightly sore at not starting this game, but there’s a level of competition in the camp now that will stand us in great stead over the course of what will be a long, hard season.
“Ospreys will arrive in great spirit after winning all of their games in the competition to date, and we know it’s going to take another special team performance to come away with the right result.
“But we beat them the last time we played them at Firhill [31-23 in October 2010] and we’ll be going all out to give the crowd more to cheer this week as they welcome back the World Cup boys.”
Captain Kellock is in line to take the mantle of the most individual minutes played in the competition come Friday night. Former Dragons back Gareth Wyatt currently leads on 8587 minutes, with Kellock (8536) and Cardiff Blues' Deiniol Jones (8523) in hot pursuit.
Supporters are reminded that Friday’s game kicks off at 7.05pm, slightly earlier than normal.
Tickets for the game are available from www.glasgowwarriors.org, by calling 0844 800 3490 or in person at the Greaves Sports Stores on Gordon Street and Sauchiehall Street.
Adult tickets booked online or on the phone before 3pm on Friday cost £15 (£20 on match-night). Students/senior citizens £10; under-18s £5.
Glasgow Warriors

15 Stuart Hogg
14 Tommy Seymour
13 Rob Dewey
12 Graeme Morrison
11 Colin Shaw
10 Duncan Weir
9 Chris Cusiter
1 Ryan Grant
2 Pat MacArthur
3 Michael Cusack
4 Richie Gray
5 Alastair Kellock (Captain)
6 Robert Harley
7 Chris Fusaro
8 Ryan Wilson
Substitutes
16 Dougie Hall
17 Gordon Reid
18 Ed Kalman
19 Tom Ryder
20 John Barclay
21 Colin Gregor
22 Troy Nathan
23 Federico Aramburu
Not considered due to injury: Calum Forrester (knee), Ruaridh Jackson (hamstring), Moray Low (calf), Fergus Thomson (shoulder), DTH Van der Merwe (shoulder), Jon Welsh (ankle)

This article was posted on 26-Oct-2011, 12:11 by Hugh Barrow.