After easing past Sale Sharks in style last weekend, Franco Smith expects a much tougher challenge when his Glasgow side visit former European champions Toulon on Sunday. At the same time, it allows us to rotate the squad with an eye on the numerous high-quality games that are still to come.
This is not the bomb squad being copied. Glasgow will be without Scotland centre Huw Jones for the clash at the Stade Felix Mayol as he recovers from a knee injury picked up in the Sale win. Stafford McDowall is his replacement, and Smith said he does not envisage Jones being out beyond this weekend.
I think if something happens tonight or tomorrow we will still be able to use him but he couldn't train the first four days of the week. That made it an obvious choice. Up front, Sam Talakai takes over at tighthead from Zander Fagerson, while Alex Samuel replaces Scott Cummings in the second row and Jack Mann replaces Matt Fagerson, prompting a reshuffle in the back-row as Henco Venter shifts to the side of the scrum to accommodate Mann at number eight.
We know we need to progress as we go forward and that freshness and ability to manage our bigger squad is part of the reason. We are always going to bring him through this year. He's worked hard and I'm excited to see what he can do.
It does, though, mean Jamie Dobie is denied a chance to play in his preferred scrum-half role, with the versatile Scotland cap again deployed on the wing. Smith insisted he still sees Dobie as primarily a scrum-half who can provide cover on the wing. If I can play him, I must get him on the wing. For him to sit on the bench for 60 minutes or 45 minutes is wasting a quality player on the field. Up front, there is another opportunity for number eight Mann to stake his claim for a place in the Cup matches.
