Glasgow Warriors

Forwards

John Barclay, Johnnie Beattie, Kelly Brown (all Glasgow Warriors), Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Richie Gray, Dougie Hall (both Glasgow Warriors), Jim Hamilton (Edinburgh), Nathan Hines (Leinster), Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh), Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors), Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh), Euan Murray (Northampton Saints), Alasdair Strokosch (Gloucester)

Backs

Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors), Simon Danielli (Ulster), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), Max Evans, Thom Evans (Glasgow Warriors), Phil Godman (Edinburgh), Alex Grove (Worcester), Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), Sean Lamont (Scarlets), Rory Lawson (Gloucester), Graeme Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Paterson (Edinburgh), Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors), Hugo Southwell (Stade Francais)

The 30-man squad breaks down as follows:

Glasgow: 13
Edinburgh: 7
Gloucester: 4
Other Exiles: 6

All of which probably reflects Glasgow’s dominance in the league and 1872 Cup so far this season.

Dan Parks is back in, along with uncapped Weege legends in the making Ruaridh Jackson and Richie Grey.

No place for the other Richie, Vernon, who is unavailable for selection along with Hoggy and Jason White, all because of injury. And presumably Rory Lamont as well, though he seems to have disappeared into a news black hole.*

Some players possibly close to featuring would have been the likes of Ospreys wing Nikki Walker, Glasgow prop Jon Welsh, or co-captain Mike Blair who has not recovered from his ankle injury in time to get some form together. Blair, Welsh, Jim Thompson, and Ross Rennie have all been invited to attend the training camp, though.

Personally, I think given his form this season Roddy Grant is unlucky not to have made the squad, as is Ben Cairns.

While presumably Cusiter continues as captain, I wonder if secondary captaincy will be given to Rory Lawson to continue the two scrum-halves model or whether Kellock, who filled in admirably in the gutsy win over Australia, will be given a shot.

And does this mean Hugooooooooo is the third scrum-half in the squad?

*UPDATE: Read the BBC article and Rory Lamont may join up with the squad assuming his survival of a club game for Toulon next week.

Saracens have announced the signing of Scottish International back-rower Kelly Brown from Glasgow Warriors on a two-year-contract.

The flanker will join up with the squad in the summer and is seen as a replacement for  South African Wikus Van Heerdan who announced last week that he will leave the club at the end of the season and move back to his homeland.

Brown joined the Warriors in 2007 from Border Reivers and has made 55 appearances for the club, scoring five tries as well as earning 29 caps for Scotland.

Warriors' coach Shaun Lineen told the club's website that he was disappointed to lose Brown but understood his reasons for moving to England and added that the player will continue to give his best for the side.

He said: "Kelly is in a rich vein of form at the moment and will be a loss to us. And even though Kelly is moving on, I know he'll give everything to help Glasgow win something this season."

Brown is the second big star to announce he is leaving Firhill at the end of the season after fly-half Dan Parks announced he had signed for Magners League rivals Cardiff Blues.

Despite the high-profile exits from Glasgow, Lineen also confirmed that flanker John Barclay has signed a new two-year-contract with the club.

Barclay, who has thirteen International caps, joined the Warriors after he left school at 17 and is currently in his sixth season at the club. The flanker has made 98 appearances for the Warriors and is looking forward to helping the club progress.

"The club is definitely going in the right direction. We have a very settled squad here and I feel that we can go on and win the Magners League, if not this year then in the very near future," he said.

Both Brown and Barclay will be hoping they are part of Scotland's Six Nations Championship plans when the tournament gets underway next month.

Currently, the Rugby Union betting markets make France the favourites to win the competition.

Assuming the games go ahead as the freezing weather continues (a couple of Magners' games have already been called off), here are the teams to take the field in Dublin and Edinburgh, respectively.

Glasgow Warriors To Face Leinster

Bernardo Stortoni, DTH van der Merwe, Max Evans, Graeme Morrison, Thom Evans, Dan Parks, Chris Cusiter, Jon Welsh, Dougie Hall, Moray Low, Alastair Kellock (capt), Richie Gray, Kelly Brown, John Barclay, Johnnie Beattie

Replacements

TBC (But I bet Jackson is going to feature; they need to start bringing him on for when Parko leaves.) (Probably on BBC Radio Scotland, Friday night.)

Speaking of Cardiff.

Edinburgh Team To Face Cardiff

Chris Paterson (capt), Jim Thompson, Ben Cairns, John Houston, Tim Visser, Rory Hutton, Greig Laidlaw, Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford, David Young, Jim Hamilton, Scott MacLeod, Alan MacDonald, Ross Rennie, Roddy Grant

Replacements

Andrew Kelly, Kyle Traynor, Craig Hamilton, Scott Newlands, Ross Samson, Nick De Luca, Mark Robertson

(Live coverage on S4c, Saturday from 6pm-ish)

Can’t say I’m not a little intrigued to see what Hutton can do, given what is a massive opportunity for him… but I wouldn’t expect miracles straight off the bat.

Highlights of both games are also on STV, as usual, on Sunday. Given the lack of games this weekend, they will presumably pad by talking about either the upcoming 6 Nations or perhaps porridge, i.e. the new Scott’s limited edition packets that are to feature Ross(y), Mossy, and Thom.

Hopefully this will help boost the sport at breakfast tables everywhere, especially during the current wintry spell.

Speaking of, um, spelling, can someone tell me when they changed the spelling of "porridge"?

It’s the first leg of the 1872 Cup this weekend, as matters turn parochial.

Brother on brother, blood on blood; Chris on Chris, Thom on Thompson, Brown vs Blair, DTH vs DC, Vernon vs Visser, Cross, Ross and Ross vs Dan, Dan, John and Johnnie, that sort of thing—basically civil war.

That sentence would have been a lot easier with Welsh names.

The first leg is in Glasgow, the second in Edinburgh, and it’s hard to see past the home teams in each fixture. Still, I have a sneaky suspicion that Glasgow will come out the better over two legs.

Edinburgh are struggling (as always) to find a cutting edge, and their attacking form seems to revolve around Godman, who is treading water at the moment, while Glasgow now seem to play all right, even when Parks is having one of his duff days—and even those have been rare recently.

While Edinburgh seem to be building a team based on familiarity and combinations, Glasgow seem to be building a team based on leadership (Barclay, Kellock, Cusiter, Thomson, Gregor, McMillan and Grey have all captained Scotland at age group, sevens or international level), and the team seems to be coming together from the increased confidence that brings.

Sean Lineen had seen the improvement in Edinburgh, and maybe realised he might be under threat if his team didn’t start living up to the promise of the squad he was building, having changed from a policy of duff foreigners to promising youngsters, and this season they seem to be repaying him.

The “inconsistent” tag still rears its ugly head every so often (second half at Gloucester) but this season they have started winning away, and they just look a lot more confident when their top lineup takes the field. Gallus, you might say.

More importantly: Who will the commentators be? Andy Nicol summarises for the Beeb, while Scott Hastings summarises AND commentates for Sky.

Given they both present on the STV highlights show, I would imagine they will be present, but as pundits, commentators or both? I would imagine it will be the two of them running back and forth between pitchside and commentary booth.

Let’s face it, STV is short of cash these days, so I doubt they can afford to draft in the legendary Runrig soundalike Andrew Cotter (just listen to that tune Murrayfield play at half time—you know, the one about Scotland), and he is probably manacled to the BBC.

Unless STV feels the spirit of Christmas past and signs up Doddie Weir’s all-conquering trousers…

During whiteout conditions at Murrayfield on Saturday, where the weather played a larger role than either of the teams for a chunk of the first half, Edinburgh managed to grab a victory against Bath.

It was a pity the snow came in when it did, as both teams were showing a willingness to throw the ball about. But when the ball became invisible in a sea of white, it became time for a very cold game of hot potato (mixed in with a little Dead Ants).

Mossy’s boot saved Edinburgh as it has so often. While I have often been reluctant to wade in on the whole "Mossy at 10" thing, Godman’s form seems to be waning. While Mossy seems to have gained a yard of pace, he gets turned over in the tackle far less and his tactical kicking is miles better than it was, and miles ahead of Godman.

He has surely done enough to be the front runner for the Scotland 15 shirt, with Hugo a close second (who honestly believed he would be a regular at Stade?).

But is he worth a look at 10 for Edinburgh, as so many have suggested? This is assuming Rory Lamont remains in the injury information black hole he is currently in.

While Robbo has been telling anyone who will listen about Scotland’s deficiencies in the 10 position, is Mossy finally worth a shout, having made his tactical game a bit, well, more Dan Parks-esque?

Speaking of Parks, he controlled the game against Gloucester extremely well in the first half, while Barclay led the forwards in a master class in frustrating the opposition. For a game with so many Scot-on-Scot match-ups, there was plenty of niggle, and no doubt a sign of what is to come next weekend. The Weej seem to excel in this area, which could be a problem for Edinburgh.

Yet in the second half Gloucester came out and pretty much reversed the situation, bullying Glasgow off their 0-6 lead and the ball and sharpening up their attack enough to take the victory.

A raft of late-term substitutions probably did not help Glasgow—much in the same way  it buggered up Edinburgh last week—with Cusiter going off and replacement McMillan then having to hide at the back with an injury, while Gregor filled in at scrum half.

This only served to rob Glasgow of Gregor’s running lines and pace from the back, which they were already short of with Thom Evans out. The Gloucester Scottish showed up well with Scott, Rory Lawson and Al Strokosch showing good skills in attack, although Kellock and Gray were all over Lawson (hooker) at the line-out.

And one more thing: does Graeme Morrison ever pass? You’d be as well playing Richie Vernon in the centre, who unveiled the pace that has Glasgow abuzz while the rest of us sat wondering why Beattie was on the bench for a guy with two first names

Scotland squad : John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors), Johnnie Beattie (Glasgow Warriors), Mike Blair (Edinburgh), Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Ben Cairns (Edinburgh), Geoff Cross (Edinburgh), Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors), Simon Danielli (Ulster), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester), Thom Evans (Glasgow Warriors), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Phil Godman (Edinburgh), Alex Grove (Worcester Warriors), Dougie Hall (Glasgow Warriors), Nathan Hines (Leinster), Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh), Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Lamont (Toulon), Sean Lamont (Scarlets), Rory Lawson (Gloucester), Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors), Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh), Scott MacLeod (Edinburgh), Graeme Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Paterson (Edinburgh), Hugo Southwell (Stade Francais), Alasdair Strokosch (Gloucester), Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors), Nikki Walker (Ospreys), Jason White (Clermont Auvergne).

Suprise ins: Alex Grove, Richie Vernon, Alan MacDonald

Surprise out: Ally Hogg, Dan Parks

Analysis:

Gotta admire Robbo for sticking to his guns and leaving Parks out despite him being in okay form and a distinct lack of other options given Jackson's absence.

Is he really only having Mossy as a back-up? Is he putting all the weight on the slightly off-the-boil Phil Godman or is he going to throw Mossy in at 10 at last for more than bench cover?

Gotta feel for Hoggy, who has been playing pretty well until recently and had repaid being given captaincy with some strong performances. Then Blair came back into the armband and strangely Edinburgh went downhill…

Still, it gives some indication of Robinson’s admiration for Beattie that he’s willing to give him a shot back at the "8" shirt. Either that or it’s the gauntlet being thrown down to Hogg to play his way back into the squad…

So now I’ll have to have a think about who would go into the 22/23 based on that. For me the back three is trickiest: Walker is in great form but he’s been there before and not kicked on. A Lamont, possibly? Evans has to be there just for the pace, give him a full Murrayfield and he’d find form I am sure. Mossy— or will he be in at 10? Or comeback king Hugooooo? More thoughts soon.

Well done to Edinburgh for a good result away from home, facing down an admittedly poor Cardiff team and coping with the usual performance from G. Clancy, Esq.

Did I say Edinburgh?  Oh, I meant Glasgow.  Telling the difference between the Scottish pro teams must be getting hard for poor old BBC Wales, which made several references to John Beattie, Firhill, and playing Biarritz next week during the coverage of Edinburgh’s piss-poor display against the Ospreys.

Granted, Beattie (junior, I can only imagine) and Ally Hogg may share a hairdresser, and Edinburgh may have “Aberdeen” on their shirts to confuse matters further, but BBC Wales’s commentary "standards" (never mind the bias) gave me something to get excited about and shout at the telly for (not really the TV’s fault, I suppose), given I was long past the point of shouting at Edinburgh’s general ineptitude.

Roddy Grant looked sharper at the breakdown than pretty much the whole team put together, and Ospreys turned Edinburgh over almost at will.  A few chances went begging, but the inability to (or lack of desire to) keep the ball proved pretty foolish against an international class (and in many places, Lions equal world class) backline, who promptly cut them to shreds.

Good to see Nikki Walker looking sharp, though. Godman kicked perfectly from tee, so Mossy was not missed in that regard, but as one of the chaps pointed out on the BBC boards, his marshalling of the defensive line was sorely absent.  Stand-in fullback and new signing Steve Jones didn’t cover himself in glory, shall we say, but he should not be the scapegoat.

Meanwhile, new Glasgow fullback Peter Horne got one kick of the ball on Saturday and sclaffed it into touch.  As it was to end the match, I can’t really complain.  Still, it’s a good sign for a youngster that he looked thoroughly disappointed in himself even for something that had no bearing on the game.

The match had long since been won by the combined work of Colin Gregor and Thom Evans behind a sturdy pack effort, and this time, Glasgow did not surrender their halftime lead.  Huzzahs all 'round for pseudo-Highlander Moray Low’s boot up field that eventually led to Johnnie Beattie’s try (see Jonathan, he was playing for Glasgow).  With Cusiter undoubtedly the best nine Glasgow have, perhaps they should find somewhere else to bring Gregor’s skills into play on a more regular basis—10 or 15, perhaps?

Big Nathan looks like he would have had fun during the Leinster 30-0 demolition of Munster that brought several tries, a bit of controversy, and no doubt plenty of niggle.  A much better range of highlights from STV this week too; they are learning a game of rugby is not just the penalty offences that lead to points, and I reckon it’s getting better.

Next weekend—Heineken Cup!

Sean Lineen announced his first Glasgow Warriors squad of the season, fresh from a narrow preseason victory over Kelly Brook’s boyfriend and the rest of the Wasps.

They take on Champs Munster, who may play more of their big guns early on in the season (rather than save them for Europe) now that a top four place is all that is required. Pity we won’t get to see Max Evans match up against De Villiers till later in the season, though.

No, I’ve never heard of young prop Jon Welsh either, but I think Scottish rugby may have finally woken up to the reality that young talent needs to be brought “on stream” earlier than was previously thought to keep the level of depth and competition for places strong.

Chuck ‘em in at the deep end—it seems to have worked for Ruaridh Jackson last season.

I’m particularly excited to see what impact Chris Cusiter can bring to a Glasgow backline with a fair amount of potential with newcomer Peter Murchie, Rob Dewey, and Thom Evans (especially with the likes of Jackson, Colin Shaw, Peter Horne, Max Evans, and Colin Gregor challenging, too).

After many of us thought he had disappeared without contract, Dan Parks continues his career resurrection, holding off Jackson’s challenge at 10 for now. Consistency is the watchword for this season—if they can find that, Glasgow can do better than many expect.

Glasgow Team To Face Munster

Bernardo Stortoni, Rob Dewey, Peter Murchie, Graeme Morrison, Thom Evans, Dan Parks, Chris Cusiter, Jon Welsh, Dougie Hall, Moray Low, Tim Barker, Alastair Kellock (captain), Kelly Brown, John Barclay, Johnnie Beattie

Substitutes: Pat MacArthur, Kevin Tkachuk, Dan Turner, Richie Vernon, Mark McMillan, Ruaridh Jackson, Colin Shaw

It’s not on TV, this one, but you can catch Nathan Hines’ new team, Leinster, in action against Sean Lamont’s new team, the Scarlets, on Saturday evening on S4C (Lamont starts, Hines is rested).

Bit of a news digest this week, hope you are enjoying the off season!

• Andy Robinson has announced his 44 man Scotland training squad for later in the month including all four Lions, several fresh faced youngsters like Ruaridh Jackson, Alex Grove and Richie Gray, and a missing Simon Taylor who has requested not to be involved at this stage. All very mysterious. Nick De Luca has been named, but I think he is carrying an injury so presumably won’t be doing any physical training. Good to see the Rory Lamont helicopter back into challenging for the full back shirt…

Scotland squad for three day training camp at St Andrews, Monday 17th-Wednesday 19th, August:

Backs: Mike Blair, Ben Cairns (both Edinburgh), Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors), Simon Danielli (Ulster), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), Thom Evans, Max Evans (both Glasgow Warriors), Phil Godman (Edinburgh), Alex Grove (Worcester Warriors), John Houston (Edinburgh), Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Lamont (Toulon), Sean Lamont (Scarlets), Rory Lawson (Gloucester), Graeme Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Paterson (Edinburgh), Hugo Southwell (Stade Francais), Jim Thompson (Edinburgh), Nikki Walker (Ospreys), Simon Webster (Edinburgh)

Forwards: John Barclay, Johnnie Beattie, Kelly Brown (all Glasgow Warriors), Geoff Cross (Edinburgh), Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Gray (Northampton Saints), Dougie Hall (Glasgow Warriors), Craig Hamilton, Jim Hamilton (both Edinburgh), Nathan Hines (Leinster), Allister Hogg, Allan Jacobsen (both Edinburgh), Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors), Alan MacDonald, Scott MacLeod (both Edinburgh), Euan Murray (Northampton Saints), Alasdair Strokosch (Gloucester), Kyle Traynor (Edinburgh), Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors), Jason White (Clermont Auvergne).

• Speaking of Clermont, Glasgow take them on in the Challenge Auvergne mini-tournament tomorrow night, having won their previous game 20-11. Lineen seems to be rotating the squad and blooding plenty of the new signings, but Rob Dewey seems to be in the thick of the action whether at wing or centre.

Glasgow Warriors team to play Clermont Auvergne at the Challenge Auvergne in Issoire, France, on Friday 7th August (kick-off 8pm local time):

Bernardo Stortoni, Rob Dewey, Peter Murchie, Peter Horne, Colin Shaw, Ruaridh Jackson, Mark McMillan, Justin Va’a, Dougie Hall, Hamish Mitchell, Richie Gray, Dan Turner, Calum Forrester, Chris Fusaro (Heriot’s)*, Johnnie Beattie

Not present will be scrum half Sam Pinder, who has announced he is leaving Glasgow for a coaching position in Hong Kong. With Cusiter coming in as clear number one scrum half it was always going to be tricky given McMillan and Gregor are probably ahead of Pinder in the pecking order too…