Morrison returns to Glasgow starting line-up and is wary of Aironi side buoyed by first win

THE POSITIVE side to Glasgow's struggles through the season without internationalists is the maturing of young players, according to the team's longest-serving performer.

Graeme Morrison returns to the starting line-up against Aironi in Viadana tonight for the first time since the end of last year, having finally recovered from a torn medial ligament in his knee.

The 28-year-old centre has been missed in both the Glasgow and Scotland midfields, his experience as a defensive organiser and solid attacking runner central aspects of both team's styles of play.

Soaking up the sun in Italy on arrival last night, he admitted: "It's nice to be back in a team again looking forward to playing. It's been a longer wait than I anticipated - I thought it would be six to eight weeks at first but it took longer and I had a cartilage clean-up too - but I've done all the rehab and done.

"It has been frustrating not being able to go out and help the cause, especially when we've been so close, as in the Ulster game last week. We played virtually the full-strength Ulster side with still a lot of our internationalists missing and went toe-to-toe with them, and were very unlucky not to win it.

"But, what I have noticed is that the young guys that have been filling the jerseys have matured a lot. They have had to grow up without the experienced guys around them helping them out. Boys like Ryan Wilson have made great strides, as have other guys, and that won't show necessarily this season but it is a good sign for the future."

The future of professional rugby in Scotland has been creating the headlines in recent weeks with more capped players leaving Glasgow and Edinburgh and younger, less known players arriving. Gordon McKie, the SRU Chief Executive, turned up the heat on Thursday when he stated that there was an environment of cosiness and excuse-making at the pro teams, but Morrison did not recognise that.

"We haven't really paid any attention to those comments because we've just heard them and we've been busy getting organised for this game and getting to Italy.

"There is a good spirit in this squad and a good attitude, and there is no doubt in my mind that the players want to do well for Glasgow. But our focus is not on what's said elsewhere, but on controlling the performances we put in this weekend and over the last few weeks of the season.

"Some people might talk about Aironi as a banana skin, but we don't see it like that because they are a team with internationalists right through it.

"They beat Connacht last week, who have done the double over us this season, and so we are here under no illusions that we have to play well to win the game."

He added: "The mentality of the boys is very good, and very focused, and we're not distracted by talk of guys leaving or anything else.

The guys that are leaving have done a great service to Glasgow and will continue to do so until the end of the season. They want to leave on a good note and we all want to finish this season very strongly.

"Personally, my focus is on being consistent and playing consistently well, and I know that that comes from focusing on the basics and keeping errors to a minimum, running hard and being good in my defence. Everything else tends to fall into place when you get it right."

Morrison is expected to be part of the Scotland World Cup squad, but he acknowledged the new threat to his no12 jersey in the shape of Sean Lamont, who finished the Six Nations looking quite assured in the unaccustomed role.

Morrison added: "It was great to see him come in and play as well as he did. I am genuinely very pleased for him. I know full well that I'm going to have to play well over the next few weeks and assert myself, and I put my hand up for selection, but I have always been someone who believes in the benefits of competition.

"I think having new competition there will only help me and ultimately Scotland."

Aironi have been forced into two changes after their historic first Magners League win, beating Connacht at home last weekend, with last week's try-scorers Gareth Krause and Kaine Robertson, who both scored against Connacht, have failed to recover from their injuries and are forced to sit out of the game. Nicola Cattina and Giulio Toniolatti will take their places in the back row and on the wing.

However, the team boasts a good core of the international talent, notably skipper Marco Bortolami, Fabio Staibano, Josh Sole, Alberto De Marchi, Matteo Pratichetti, Tito Tebaldi, Salvatore Perugini, Fabio Ongaro, Pablo Canavosio, Quintin Geldenhuys and former Munster back row Nick Williams....