Lineen rewards Cusiter's 'massive' return with show of faith

"Having Chris back is massive not only for us, but for him," said Lineen.

"It's been a hard 11 months for Chris but he's always kept his head high and we've always supported him.

"He's a world-class player and has been buzzing around the field all week.

"The whole squad has been buoyed by his return."

Lineen added: "The medical staff have been excellent and shown real patience, as he has. It's all about getting him on the field now and giving him every opportunity of being involved at the world cup."

Cusiter is return is four personnel changes from the team that beat Aironi a fortnight ago.

In addition to the British & Irish Lion's inclusion in the backs, Hefin O'Hare replaces Alex Dunbar on the right wing, and DTH van der Merwe moves over to the left.

The Glasgow pack sees hooker Dougie Hall earning a start as he continues his recovery from a shoulder injury.

Following an improved performance against Aironi, Johnnie Beattie is re-instated to the back-row in place of Ryan Wilson.

Ahead of the squad's maiden trip to the Stadio Monigo, Lineen continued: "Treviso have been around for a few years and are well-versed in the Heineken Cup.

"They are also very difficult at home. It's important that we give good performances in these last three games. The players know what it's all about - we need to finish on a winning note."

Treviso return to home turf after a two-month absence, for the 20th match of Magners League.

They have not played at home since the 19 February match against Ospreys. The encounter is a crucial affair for both teams, as Glasgow enjoy a two-point advantage over the Lions.

Franco Smith lines up once again with Brendan Williams as full-back.

Fabio Semenzato and Willem De Waal feature as half-backs, since Edoardo Gori, Tobias Botes and Kristopher Burton are unavailable.

Paul Derbyshire is making his return in the No 8 jersey, while Alessandro Zanni will play as flanker. Matteo Muccignat is also to start.

l Newport Gwent Dragons took a Magners League bonus point victory at home last night, beating the high-flying Ospreys 32-28 in a Welsh derby.

A victory for the Ospreys would have put them in a strong position to secure an end-of-season play-off place and pressurise Ulster for second position.

However, they went into the half-time break behind after 40 minutes of intense rugby at Rodney Parade.

The lead changed hands four times in that period, with the Dragons having the edge in territory and possession.

Welsh outside-half Dan Biggar grabbed the opening points with a penalty after three minutes but just seconds later, a clinical move down the left by the Dragons left the Ospreys floundering and centre Ashley Smith away to score a try.

Outside-half Jason Tovey converted but the lead was not to last as former Wales captain Ryan Jones was on the end of a move inside the home 22 to squeeze in at the corner after centre James Hook provided the scoring pass.

In last night's remaining Magners League match, 16 points from the boot of Scotland stand-off Dan Parks helped Blues to a 26-12 victory over Connacht.

v Treviso at Stadio Monigo

tomorrow, kick-off 2pm

15 Peter Murchie

14 Hefin O'Hare

13 Federico Aramburu

12 Graeme Morrison (capt)

11 DTH van der Merwe

10 Ruaridh Jackson

9 Chris Cusiter

1 Ryan Grant

2 Dougie Hall

3 Moray Low

4 Aly Muldowney

5 Tom Ryder

6 Robert Harley

7 Richie Vernon

8 Johnnie Beattie

Subs

16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Kevin Tkachuk, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Chris Fusaro, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Colin Gregor, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Peter Horne