You can read more of Disco's thoughts on Glasgow's PRO14 and European campaigns, Scotland's international fortunes, and much, much more at his excellent blog Top of the Moon.
KO 7.35 at Scotstoun Stadium
Friday 19th February 2021
Live on Premier Sports 1
- This is the second time these sides have met this season. 7 Warriors were on duty in the starting XV at the Kingspan back in November. 8 Ulstermen also return. With the home side's changes bringing in mostly first choice options will they have closed the gap enough to overturn what was a heavy defeat in Belfast?
- Between them, Robert Harley and Ryan Wilson have made 422 previous appearances for Glasgow Warriors. The rest of the starting XV have made 421.
Teams
Glasow Warriors
15 Huw Jones
14 Ratu Tagive
13 Robbie Fergusson
12 Sam Johnson
11 Rufus McLean
10 Adam Hastings
9 Jamie Dobie
1 Oli Kebble
2 Johnny Matthews
3 Enrique Pieretto
4 Richie Gray
5 Leone Nakarawa
6 Robert Harley
7 Tom Gordon
8 Ryan Wilson (Captain)
Substitutes
16 Grant Stewart
17 Aki Seiuli
18 D'arcy Rae
19 James Scott
20 TJ Ioane
21 Sean Kennedy
22 Ross Thompson
23 Ollie Smith
15 Michael Lowry
14 Craig Gilroy
13 James Hume
12 Stuart McCloskey
11 Rob Lyttle
10 Ian Madigan
9 John Cooney
1 Eric O'Sullivan
2 John Andrew
3 Marty Moore
4 Alan O'Connor
5 Kieran Treadwell
6 Nick Timoney
7 Jordi Murphy (Captain)
8 Marcell Coetzee
Substitutes
16 Adam McBurney
17 Andy Warwick
18 Tom O'Toole
19 Cormac Izuchukwu
20 Greg Jones
21 Alby Mathewson
22 Stewart Moore
23 Matt Faddes
Head to Head:
Back 3 - ADV Ulster
Centres - ADV Ulster
Half Backs - EVEN
Front Row - ADV Glasgow Warriors
Second Row - ADV Glasgow Warriors
Back Row - EVEN
Subs - ADV Ulster
Glasgow Greetings:
There's a debut in line for James Scott who has sneaked in on loan from the other Warriors of Worcester. James will become Warrior number 322 if he is brought on against Ulster. The big lock is one of 5 players from outwith Glasgow's main squad involved in the 23 on Friday night alongside fellow loanee TJ Ioane; Scotland 7s' Robbie Fergusson and Academy players Ross Thompson and Ollie Smith.
Johnny Matthews will make his first start for the club with his current form sufficiently strong to see him picked in the number 2 jersey ahead of capped internationals Grant Stewart and Mesu Dolokoto.
Warrior to Watch:
While the high point of his season might be his role as Adam Hastings' hairstyling icon there have been plenty of other memorable moments for Oli Kebble. The former Stormer made his Scotland debut against Georgia in October and has been an ever present for the national side in their other 6 matches since then.
While every Warriors' fan will be proud to see OIi pull on the dark blue it will be equally as satisfying to see him run out in Glasgow colours for just the 4th time this season. Anyone taking on a side coached by Dan McFarland needs a solid platform up front if they are going to compete. Oli's role in the scrum and around the park will be crucial to the Warriors' chances of turning over a side who are flying high in the PRO14.
Glasgow at home to Ulster in the PRO12/14 era:
- 6 wins
- 1 loss
- 3 Try BPs
- 1 Losing BP
- 28 points out of a possible 35 (80%)
The Warriors have also won 2 playoff semi-finals at Scotstoun against Ulster during this period.
Previous regular season match-up:
Officials:
Referee: Ben Blain (SRU, 8th Championship game)
AR1: Hollie Davidson (SRU)
AR1: Dunx McClement (SRU)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)
Mr Blain's regular season record for 2019/20 in the PRO14:
Matches - 4 (all refs - 101)
Average penalty count - 22.0 per game (all refs - 19.1)
Home penalty percentage - 50% (all refs - 52%)
Average card count - 3.0 per game (all refs - 0.9)
Penalties per card - 7 (all refs - 15)
Mr Blain is pretty keen on a card or two, as he demonstrated in his last outing at Scotstoun. During an 1872 Cup match he dished out 5 yellow cards (2 to Glasgow and 3 to Edinburgh). Best behaviour is probably required on Friday night!