Scotland U20s star one of two Glasgow Warriors debutants for 1872 Cup decider

Glasgow will hand Scottish Rugby Academy graduates Ross Thompson and Rufus McLean their first starts in Friday’s Guinness PRO14 clash with Edinburgh. Thompson, 21, is selected at fly-half after Pete Horne failed to recover from a head knock in time to feature.

The former Scotland Under-20s vice-captain impressed off the bench during last weekend’s 10-7 defeat at BT Murrayfield and replaces Brandon Thomson, who is among the replacements after his loose pass led to Edinburgh’s only try.

Scotland Under-20s winger McLean comes in for Ratu Tagive to make his debut in the continued absence of Tommy Seymour, who has concussion.

Brian Moore talks to Jim Hamilton:

Brian Moore talks to Jim Hamilton:

Boston-born McLean, 20, scored three tries in four appearances during last year’s Under-20 Six Nations.

Head coach Danny Wilson told the Warriors website: “We wanted to give an opportunity to a few boys we think deserve their shot based on their efforts in training over the last couple of weeks.

“We’re excited to see how Ross goes at fly-half and for Rufus to get his first run out for the club – he’s a young man with an impressive skillset and electric pace.

“At the same time, though, it’s all about continuing to gel and grow as a squad.

“We’ve worked on a few things we learned from last week, and we’re excited to get back out at Scotstoun on Friday night.”

Oli Kebble returns from a Covid-19 lay-off to start at loosehead prop while Richie Gray continues in the second row following his impressive comeback at Murrayfield.

Centre Robbie Fergusson also comes in for the unavailable Sam Johnson while Lewis Bean is again among the replacements following his try off the bench last weekend.

GLASGOW WARRIORS:
1. Oli Kebble (52)
2. George Turner (55)
3. Zander Fagerson (96)
4. Richie Gray (52)
5. Scott Cummings (74)
6. Ryan Wilson (C) (180)
7. Tom Gordon (26)
8. Matt Fagerson (67)
9. Ali Price (92)
10. Ross Thompson (1)
11. Rufus McLean (0)
12. Robbie Fergusson (6)
13. Nick Grigg (80)
14. Lee Jones (86)
15. Huw Jones (44)

REPLACEMENTS:
16. Johnny Matthews (6)
17. Aki Seiuli (21)
18. Enrique Pieretto (9)
19. Lewis Bean (5)
20. TJ Ioane (8)
21. Jamie Dobie (14)
22. Brandon Thomson (31)
23. Glenn Bryce (33)

Unavailable for selection: Alex Allan, Fraser Brown, Rob Harley, Adam Hastings, George Horne, Pete Horne, Sam Johnson, Sean Kennedy, Kiran McDonald, Niko Matawalu, Leone Nakarawa, Tommy Seymour, Kyle Steyn