| WARRIORS BRACED FOR TOUGHEST BATTLE AGAINST MONTPELLIER |
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| Thursday, 08 December 2011 | |
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Glasgow Warriors will look to record a sixth home Heineken Cup win out of seven when they tackle Montpellier at Firhill on Sunday (kick-off 12.45pm, live on Sky Sports via red button). The Pool 3 clash will see Sean Lineen’s men seek to follow up the dramatic 26-21 triumph over Bath four weeks ago, the victories notched during the last campaign against Dragons and London Wasps, and the season 2009/10 beatings of the men from Newport and Gloucester Rugby. The Warriors have lost only one of their last eight games in all competitions, but know they need to raise their performance level “significantly” from Sunday's 14-14 RaboDirect PRO12 draw with Dragons at Rodney Parade. Head coach Lineen told www.glasgowwarriors.org: “We’re coming into this game with a decent run of form at our backs, but it’s a match where we won’t get away with any hint of slackness in any aspect of what we do. “Although it’s been really pleasing to watch us develop the sort of hard edge that wins you games when you’ve not played well, we’re aware that anything other than our best right across the field is likely to see us come up short this time. “Montpellier are a hugely physical team with pace and power in the backs and some real tough customers up front. Any side that reaches the Top 14 final, as they did last season, is seriously good by definition, and it’s up to us to prove once again that we can live with that sort of outfit.” Only two players, Peter Murchie and Jon Welsh, retain their places in the starting line-up from last weekend in Wales. Lineen called the selection process for the Montpellier game the “toughest” he and his fellow coaches have experienced in their six years at the club. He explained: “We’ve debated long and hard and taken a good while to decide on our team, because there were any number of close calls to make a decision on. “The number of players who have put their hand up so far this season has put us in a situation where we have to leave out guys who are actually playing well. Troy Nathan and Chris Fusaro, for example, are unlucky to be on the bench this weekend, but as ever we’ve picked the team we think will win the game. “The strength in depth we have at the moment is emphasised when you see international players like Moray Low and Johnnie Beattie missing out completely, but these guys know they will get their opportunity to impress and that we need to reward Mike Cusack and Ryan Wilson for the outstanding form they’ve been showing.” Rory Lamont, who rejoined the club last week, starts on the wing. Lineen commented: “It’s great to have Rory back in the ranks, and you can tell there’s been a little extra buzz to training this week. “We’d all love for there to be another big crowd to welcome him home on Sunday. The fans turned out in great numbers against both Bath and Ulster, and really helped us get over the line in what were closely contested affairs. “Winning the Montpellier game is vital to our hopes of progressing from the pool, and the supporters have a big part to play in making that happen.” Fans who book tickets HERE by 8am on Sunday will save £5 on the standard match-day adult price of £20. Tickets purchased via 0844 800 3490 before 5pm on Friday will also qualify for the discount. Students/senior citizens £10, under-18s £5 (irrespective of when purchased). Tickets are also available from the Gordon Street and Sauchiehall Street branches of Greaves Sports, our official retail partner, and at Firhill on the day. GLASGOW WARRIORS TEAM TO PLAY MONTPELLIER IN HEINEKEN CUP POOL 3 AT FIRHILL ON SUNDAY 11 DECEMBER (KICK-OFF 12.45PM) 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Federico Aramburu 10 Duncan Weir 1 Jon Welsh SUBSTITUTES 16 Dougie Hall Not considered for selection due to injury: Colin Shaw (head knock), DTH van der Merwe (shoulder). |
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