Sean Maitland ready for Glasgow Warriors return

SEAN MAITLAND will make his first appearance of the season for Glasgow Warriors when he starts against Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday evening.

Scotland international and Glasgow Warriors' winger Sean Maitland. Picture: Ian Georgeson

The New Zealand-born Scotland international will line up on the right wing after recovering from the Achilles problem which ruled him out of the first five Guinness PRO12 matches of the campaign.

It is another boost for the unbeaten Warriors as they look to extend their three-match winning streak against the Belfast men.

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Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend said: “Our recent games with Ulster have been very competitive and (Saturday) will be another tough test for us.

“They had a good win last weekend (30-0 over Edinburgh) and will be coming into the game with confidence. We have huge respect for our opponents and we’re looking forward to playing in front of a big crowd at the Kingspan Stadium.

“We’re expecting a high-intensity match and both teams will be looking to go into their respective European campaigns off the back of a good performance on Saturday night.”

Maitland’s return on the right means Tommy Seymour moves to the opposite side after his two tries against Benetton Treviso last weekend.

Peter Murchie replaces Stuart Hogg at full-back to make his first start since the win over Cardiff Blues last month, while Mark Bennett comes in for Sean Lamont at outside centre and Peter Horne continues at number 12.

In a new half-back pairing, Finn Russell comes in for Duncan Weir at stand-off and Henry Pyrgos replaces Niko Matawalu at scrum-half.

Gordon Reid and Euan Murray replace Alex Allan and Rossouw de Klerk in the front row, while Fraser Brown takes over the number two jersey from Pat MacArthur.

It is a new second-row partnership, with Tim Swinson and Leone Nakarawa coming in for Tom Ryder and Al Kellock.

In the back row, Rob Harley and Chris Fusaro return and Josh Strauss will captain the side from number eight.

Dougie Hall could make his first appearance of the season from the bench, after recovering from an arm injury which has sidelined him since last season’s PRO12 final.

Jonny Gray and Adam Ashe also return from injury and are among the replacements, while 18-year-old Zander Fagerson has once again been named on the bench after making his Warriors debut in last week’s win over Treviso.