Glasgow Warriors summon 21y/o from cold to face Scarlets as URC action returns
Smith also able to call upon some returning Scotland players
Glasgow Warriors have handed a first start to Scotland Under-20 winger Kerr Johnston as they bid to make it four wins in a row in the United Rugby Championship.
Franco Smith’s men are on the road as they travel to Llanelli to take on Scarlets on Saturday and the head coach has been able to call upon a number of Scotland players.
Captain Kyle Steyn and centre Sione Tuipulotu are rested, but the likes of Gregor Brown, Stafford McDowall, Ollie Smith and Kyle Rowe are in the first XV - with Alex Samuel, Max Williamson, George Horne and Adam Hastings among a strong bench.
Johnston made his Glasgow debut against Dragons back in February but has not featured since. However, the 21-year-old has been entrusted for another trip to Wales.
Scrum-half Ben Afshar makes his first start of the campaign and partners Dan Lancaster in the half-back pairing. Jamie Bhatti lines up in the front-row alongside Johnny Matthews and Patrick Schickerling, while Alex Craig and Jare Oguntibeju are the second rows
Gregor Brown has recovered from a head injury sustained on Scotland duty against Argentina to line up on the blindside flank, linking up with Angus Fraser and Macenzzie Duncan as the loose-forward trio.
An all-Scotland centre pairing sees McDowall captain the side from inside centre, combining with Smith. Johnston joins Rowe – scorer of a hat-trick on Glasgow’s most recent visit to Parc y Scarlets – on the wings, and Josh McKay starts at full-back.
Glasgow Warriors absentees
However, Euan Ferrie (ankle), Huw Jones (ankle), Charlie Savala (knee), Grant Stewart (foot), Tavi Tuipulotu (knee), Sione Vailanu (knee) and Murphy Walker (shoulder) all miss out.
Warriors are currently third in the table and depending on results elsewhere could move to the summit should they prevail at Parc y Scarlets.
“We are excited to return to URC action this weekend as we kick off an important block of fixtures over the next 10 weeks,” said Smith. “The whole squad has worked hard over the last couple of weeks to put ourselves in the best possible position, as we know that the way we apply ourselves will be extremely important.
“We know the Scarlets will provide a tough test in front of a passionate home crowd, and we know that we must be at our best to overcome a challenging opponent.”
Scarlets are bottom of the table after four defeats and head coach Dwayne Peel is targeted an upturn in fortunes. “It is the start of a massive block of matches for us and it is important we start picking up points,” said Peel. ”I’m excited to see how we go.”
Scarlets v Glasgow Warriors teams
Match details: Saturday, November 29, Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli. KO 7.30pm.
Scarlets: Jac Davies, Iori Badham, Macs Page, Eddie James, Tomi Lewis, Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies, Kemsley Mathias, Ryan Elias, Archer Holz, Jake Ball, Sam Lousi, Max Douglas, Josh Macleod (c), Fletcher Anderson. Replacements: Marnus van der Merwe, Sam O’Connor, Henry Thomas, Harvey Cuckson, Dan Davis, Dane Blacker, Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, Gabe McDonald.
Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Kyle Rowe, Ollie Smith, Stafford McDowall (c), Kerr Johnston, Dan Lancaster, Ben Afshar, Jamie Bhatti, Johnny Matthews, Patrick Schickerling, Alex Craig, Jare Oguntibeju, Gregor Brown, Angus Fraser, Macenzzie Duncan. Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Nathan McBeth, Sam Talakai, Max Williamson, Alex Samuel, Ally Miller, George Horne, Adam Hastings.
Referee: Chris Allison (SARU).
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