RUGBY NEWS:MUNSTER HAVE just beaten the Magners League champions, Ospreys, while their opponents tomorrow evening, Glasgow Warriors, succumbed to Connacht at home last Friday.
The Scottish side don’t need a history lesson on Magners League trends to know how important home defeats can impact a season, especially when Glasgow Warriors head coach Seán Lineen believes Munster simply do not play bad games.
Lineen is anticipating what he believes will be an “awesome” game at Firhill, not least of all because he knows his team must change. Understanding what a package Munster are, he also recognises it is imperative that his side bounce back quickly if they are to have any hopes of being contenders at the fag end of the year. Glasgow now sit ninth on the table, Munster first.
“Munster are all about momentum,” said Lineen yesterday. “They are leading the Magners League and never play a bad game so I’m looking forward to what should be an awesome night.”
The Glasgow side have made three changes to the team that lost to Connacht – one in the pack and two in the backs. The only change up front sees prop Moray Low exchange places on the bench with Ed Kalman.
In the backs, Duncan Weir will make his first starting appearance at outhalf for Glasgow in place of Ruaridh Jackson with Argentina centre Federico Aramburu returning in place of Hefin O’Hare who is on Scotland sevens duty ahead of the increasingly doubtful Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
With Jackson and O’Hare in the squad, Lineen has a wealth of talent at his disposal at 10. “Ruaridh has had three games in a row and I’ve been really impressed with how he’s played. He’s got the line moving in both attack and defence but Duncan really deserves his chance,” said Lineen.
“I’ve been really encouraged by both players and how they are pushing each other upwards. It’s great to have two such ambitious 10s.”
Their Scottish colleagues Edinburgh, who face Leinster tomorrow, could also panic if allowed to do so. The latest defeat at the hands of Ulster was the Scottish capital city side’s seventh consecutive loss in the League.
But they have found support from unlikely sources in former Scottish British Lions John Beattie. The former backrow highlighted the youthful make-up of Rob Moffat’s Edinburgh squad and with large dollops of homespun wisdom has given his backing to Edinburgh.
“The natural pool of talent is as good as it has ever been in Scottish rugby with the likes of Roddy Grant, Tim Visser and the rest are as good as anyone around. But they are young,” said the former Scotland number eight.
“What can they do? Well, as every mother knows, young men grow up very quickly. What is happening to the young players at Glasgow and Edinburgh is that they have been chucked in at the deep end and dealing with the defeats is all part of the learning process.
“Experience can be painful. Glasgow’s and Edinburgh’s players are getting painful lessons at a very, very young age. They will learn from this and improve very quickly.”
To illustrate his point, Beattie complimented Ulster and the depth of talent they had on the bench last week.
“Late in the game a former Springbok, Pedrie Wannenberg, came on in the backrow for Ulster and around the same time, David Denton, a 20-year-old, came on to make his debut for Edinburgh. Sitting in the wings for Ulster was another current Springbok, Ruan Pienaar.”
GLASGOW(v Munster): B Stortoni; D van der Merwe, M Evans, G Morrison, F Aramburu; D Weir, C Gregor; J Welsh, F Thomson, M Low, T Ryder, R Gray, Harley, J Barclay (capt), R Vernon. Replacements(from): D Hall, E Kalman, Kevin Tkachuk, Aly Muldowney, R Wilson, C Forrester, H Pyrgos, R Jackson, R Dewey, P Murchie
