Jonny Gray will return to captain Glasgow Warriors in the second 1872 Cup match but Gregor Townsend has been both forced and chosen to leave out experienced personnel for Scotstoun on Saturday.
Gray’s return after concussion is just one of eight changes as the Warriors seek to reel in Edinburgh’s 12 point deficit to regain the cup, but Townsend has lost experienced hands.
Neither Alex Dunbar and Mike Blair are available to bolster the Warriors, Finn Russell and Tommy Seymour are rested while Leone Nakarawa and Ryan Grant drop to the bench.
Teenage tight-head Zander Fagerson will start his first Inter-City game, while American lock Greg Peterson. Young scrum-half Ali Price starts with Duncan Weir at half-backwhile Josh Strauss returns to no 8.
The changes in the pack are not a reflection on how the Warriors pack were manhandled at BT Murrayfield on Sunday, insisted Townsend.
“This is an opportunity for Zander to start after coming on and playing well on Sunday and other games,” said the coach of the Perth-born 19-year-old. “He deserves the chance to play longer.
“Greg started our win against Ospreys and came off the bench in about another four matches.
“He is a big man and very physical. He’s played very well in all the games he came off the bench, making an impact with his ball-carrying and ruck clears, and he obviously adds a bit of weight to our set-piece.
“We believe the balance this week with Leone coming off the bench is a better way to approach the game.“
Strauss and Gordon Reid were both earmarked to return for this game, while Russell and Seymour were always going to sit it out, he continued.
“The Scotland players can only play five games in a row and we’ve got another three Champions Cup games after this, so it’s a case of knowing when to rest these players,” continued Townsend.
The head coach identifies the contact area as where last weekend’s first leg was won and lost and detects a good atmosphere from the squad’s debrief of that game.
“It’s determination that’s been the reaction,” he added. “There was obviously a lot of disappointment with the way we performed, and perhaps a bit of anger, so it’s great that we get a second chance of the same opponents this week.
“We clearly have to improve in most of the reads of the game, and in some of them improve a fair bit, so we know that the task we have. The players have all reacted really well in terms of what we discussed yesterday at the meeting and how they trained, and there’s that determination there to play much better than last week.”
Edinburgh’s improvement cannot be underestimated, added the coach.
“We found out how tough they were last year and it’s even tougher this year; Edinburgh are a quality side, they showed that at the weekend and they’ve shown that throughout this season.
“They are an excellent defensive team, they have an excellent set-piece and also they are playing much more high paced rugby.
“We know how difficult it is going to be to win the game and it’s going to be even more difficult to win by 13 or more points but that’s the goal. We are here to win games, but we are also here to win bankable trophies so we’ll be playing to do that.”
Glasgow team (vs Edinburgh, 1872 Cup/Guinness PRO12, Scoustoun, Saturday, 5.15pm)
Stuart Hogg; Taqele Naiyaravoro, Mark Bennett, Peter Horne, Sean Lamont; Duncan Weir, Ali Price; Gordon Reid, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson; Greg Peterson, Jonny Gray (capt); Ryan Wilson, Chris Fusaro, Josh Strauss.
Replacements: Shalva Mamukashvili, Ryan Grant, Sila Puafisi, Leone Nakarawa, Hugh Blake, Grayson Hart, Peter Murchie, Lee Jones.