Defiant Glasgow supremo Gregor Townsend denies he is taking a massive Euro gamble by throwing Alex Dunbar back in at the deep end.
The bustling centre will line up against the superstars of Cardiff on Friday as the Warriors embark on a “must-win” Heineken Cup mission at the Arms Park and Townsend insisted Dunbar will be more than ready for the challenge despite the fact it will be his first outing at any level for almost two months.
The coach declared: “Alex has not played at all since hurting his shoulder and neck in Toulon but he has worked really hard in training.
“He could have been available to face the Ospreys last weekend but we felt he just needed to do a little more in the gym.
“He has been going really well for the past couple of weeks and it is great to see him back. He was in excellent form before the injury back in mid-October and he is in tremendous nick again.
“We play a lot of games at training with full contact. He has been well-tested.”
Townsend admitted he was left with the kind of selection headaches he loves to have.
He explained: “I had a lot of thinking to do. Some guys had been rested for the Ospreys game and the Fijians were back in the camp after their clash with the Barbarians at Twickenham.
“It was a really, really hard team to pick.
“Apart from Alex, it is also good to have Gabriel Ascarate beside him in midfield.
“You select on form and on big-game experience but the biggest factor is what we intend to do at Cardiff.
“The nature of their artificial pitch means the action should be faster.
“They hold on to the ball a lot and they lead the Pro12 stats for time in possession so we know we are going to be defending and we will have to get the ball off them.
“We played a lot of good rugby against the Ospreys last weekend. We moved them around a bit and we need to build on that.”
Townsend added: “Both teams know the importance of the two back-to-back ties.
“If we can win both then we would be in a strong position going into the last set of matches in January.”
Skipper Al Kellock will make his 50th Heineken Cup appearance, including his time at Edinburgh.
He is determined to make the Cardiff occasion one to remember as he confessed to forgetting who the opposition were on his first tournament outings for both pro-teams.
In terms of long-lasting inspiration, Kellock said: “I will always remember Glasgow beating Toulouse in France.
“That was an amazing game as nobody gave us a chance yet we got three tries to beat them.
“It was a tremendous moment and a privilege to be involved.”
Cardiff will give an instant debut to lock Chris Dicomidis, who has made the short move from Pontypridd.
Returning Wales stars Leigh Halfpenny, Alex Cuthbert and Lloyd Williams are recalled to the backline while fit-again duo Rhys Patchell and Harry Robinson are also in the ranks.
Prop Sam Hobbs will captain the side and is joined in the front row by hooker Kristian Dacey.
Rory Watts-Jones will make his first start of the season and appearance in Europe for Blues at openside flanker.
Coach Phil Davies stated: “Chris is an experienced Premiership player and what a challenge and opportunity for him to show he is a top performer.
“Glasgow are a team full of quality and it is a big challenge for us but hopefully we can have the same kind of atmosphere as we had for Toulon at home and reproduce that level of display.”
Only one point separates leaders Exeter from bottom-placed Cardiff, who blew the group wide open by beating reigning European champions Toulon 19-15 in October.
“The next two weeks will go a long way to deciding our fate in the Heineken Cup,” Blues director of rugby Phil Davies said.
“It’s vital we start strongly and get another crucial victory at the Arms Park.
“Our win over Toulon will always live long in the memory. It was a famous day for our region.
“Now it is vital we build on that result because the pool is wide open after two games and every team is chasing top spot.”