John Barclay moves to the blindside
Fly-half Ruaridh Jackson returns as Glasgow Warriors aim for a Heineken Cup double over Montpellier on Saturday (ko 4.40pm local time/3.40pm UK time).
Centre Troy Nathan replaces Graeme Morrison, while Johnnie Beattie takes the number eight shirt and Chris Fusaro starts at openside flanker.
John Barclay switches to the blindside to accomodate Chris Fusaro and Jon Welsh cedes to Ryan Grant at loose-head prop.
Robert Harley misses out with a hand injury.
After a 20-15 success at Firhill last Sunday, a further triumph would see the Warriors do the double over last year’s French Top 14 finalists and stay right in the hunt to progress from Pool 3.
Sean said: “This is a simply massive game for the whole club. We’ve put ourselves in a reasonable position by beating Bath and Montpellier at home, but if we’re serious about progressing from the pool we need to win on the road, and we know from our experience in Dublin how difficult that is.
“We know it will be just as tough in southern France this weekend. Montpellier showed at Firhill that they’re a terrifically physical team with a lot of ability, and they’ve won their last three games in the Top 14, beating sides like Clermont and Biarritz.
“We’re also coming into the game with a bit of form, having lost only one of our last nine matches, but we’re well aware that beating a quality Top 14 team on home turf is going to take something special.
“We’ve got the players to deliver it, but we’ll need everyone firing on all cylinders across the 80 minutes to send our supporters home happy. We’ll certainly need to start much better than we did on Sunday, where it took us a good half hour to get into our stride.
“The players know that, and although it’s been a relatively quick week in terms of the turnaround, I’ve been delighted with the really positive and determined vibe that’s been coming from the group. They’re up for the challenge of securing what would be one of the best results in Glasgow Warriors’ history."
Sean explained the changes to his line-up, saying: “As ever, we’ve picked a team we strongly believe can win us the game. We said last week that Ruaridh and Johnnie would get more opportunities to bring their influence to bear, and this is a great chance for them to shine.
“Duncan Weir again performed very well last weekend, but I was impressed with the control and composure that Ruaridh brought off the bench, while Johnnie gives us another great ball-carrying option in the back row.
“Chris Fusaro more than merits a start – he’s been absolutely tremendous so far this season. We’re very comfortable about moving John Barclay to blindside; he’s not played a massive amount of rugby there, but he’s got more than enough quality and game knowledge to take the switch in his stride.
“Graeme Morrison is unlucky not to be in the 23, but it’s indicative of the competition we have for places now. Rob Dewey has been performing consistently, and did well as captain against Dragons.”
Glasgow have only once tasted victory on French soil in the Heineken Cup, the famous 33-26 beating of Toulouse in January 2009.
They have, however, beaten Montpellier away, 30-11 in December 2003 in the European Challenge Cup.
Glasgow Warriors

15 Stuart Hogg
14 Federico Aramburu
13 Peter Murchie
12 Troy Nathan
11 Rory Lamont
10 Ruaridh Jackson
9 Chris Cusiter
1 Ryan Grant
2 Pat MacArthur
3 Michael Cusack
4 Richie Gray
5 Alastair Kellock (Captain)
6 John Barclay
7 Chris Fusaro
8 Johnnie Beattie
Substitutes
16 Dougie Hall
17 Jon Welsh
18 Moray Low
19 Tom Ryder
20 Ryan Wilson
21 Henry Pyrgos
22 Duncan Weir
23 Rob Dewey
Not considered for selection due to injury: Robert Harley (hand), Gordon Reid (hand), DTH van der Merwe (shoulder), Rob Verbakel (hamstring).

This article was posted on 15-Dec-2011, 17:58 by Hugh Barrow.