ROB Dewey has made a late switch from wing to centre in his first Heineken Cup match in Glasgow colours after the Scottish side were dealt a double blow on the eve of their opening match in the tournament with Biarritz.
As well as the loss of Chris Cusiter, whose flu has led to a throat infection, their Scotland centre Graeme Morrison has also been forced out with a shin injury. It was revealed yesterday that Morrison suffered the damage in the opening minutes of
last Sunday's win over Cardiff but played through the pain, and despite it flaring up on his return north from Wales he remained hopeful it would settle in time for today's Heineken Cup kick-off.
Glasgow had to accept, however, that they had run out of time in the six-day turnaround and that the powerful runner would not be fit enough to perform anywhere near his best at Firhill. Head coach Sean Lineen has drafted Colin Gregor back into the starting line-up at scrum-half and moved Dewey to his old berth at inside centre, to cover Morrison's absence, and promoted summer signing DTH van de Merwe, the Canadian internationalist, to the right wing spot. Mark McMillan and Peter Horne return to the bench.
Lineen said: "Graeme wasn't a well lad at the beginning of this week. We've given him as much time as possible to recover because he was desperate to play, but we've got to make the call at the end of the day.
"Chris has called off due to a throat infection and no-one is more disappointed about him not playing than he is. However, we can now bring in a fantastic player in Colin Gregor who had a great game in Cardiff and who thrives in Europe, and Rob Dewey has played international rugby at inside centre so I'm confident he'll do a good job."
Dewey is not a bad replacement. The centre's physicality will be crucial in the midfield as Biarritz field two powerful and experienced centres in 6ft 5in Damien Traille at inside and 6ft 3in Ayoola Erinle – the 29-year-old England cap who also weighs over 17 stone – outside. Youngster David McCall is proving himself worthy of his second chance in the pro game with Glasgow and slotted in well to the Glasgow side, but he remains inexperienced in a crucial defensive position at outside centre and will need Dewey's help to deal with the Biarritz pair.
Similarly, Van der Merwe is set for a tough baptism as he faces up to another powerful back in 33-year-old winger Nicolas Brusque, who has 27 France caps. On the other flank there is a mouthwatering confrontation between Takudzwa Ngwenya, the diminutive American speedster who has scored 20 tries in his 42 games for Biarritz to date, and Scots flyer and last season's Magners League top try-scorer Thom Evans.
Evans will tower over the US Eagles star, but the Scot needs to command that flank and follow up a good display last week with more of the form witnessed last season.
That is if Glasgow stand-off Dan Parks can get the ball to him. First, the hosts have a mighty challenge to win it. Biarritz are proving themselves this season as a team that prides itself on smashing bodies in defence and turning over ball, led by the indefatigable French veteran Imanol Harinordoquy, joined this week by Florian Faure and Englishman Magnus Lund in the back row.
This area more than any other will determine this match, as questions are asked physically and mentally most notably of Johnnie Beattie, John Barclay and Richie Vernon, but also Glasgow's pack and team defence as a whole. Coach Gary Mercer's defensive patterns have brought a solidity to Glasgow in recent times, which was manifest superbly against Toulouse in January, but the pressure in this game around the fringes is liable to be a few notches up on the opening Magners League games. That also means a heavy onus on half-backs Gregor and Parks to put their bodies on the line.
Gregor is a hugely skilful performer and his private war with France scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili will also be an intriguing one, Yachvili being the Biarritz conductor and a good foil to his back row. But if Gregor can ask questions of him Yachvili has been known to drift in games too.
Glasgow have been boosted by victory in Cardiff last weekend and their performances the last time they came up against French opposition, Toulouse, home and away last season. They should have won the home match, but lost 14-10, only to stun the Frenchmen in France in a fine 33-26 triumph. Biarritz are also in good heart. They come into this match unbeaten in their last five games, having recovered from a run of three defeats in their opening four matches in the Top 14 to claim the scalps of Stade Francais, Toulon and Perpignan in recent weeks.
However, they have won only once away from home so far, at Brive, and their only away wins in the last two years of the Heineken Cup were in Italy. Under Australian coach Jack Isaac, the Basque club are not of the French mentality that veers towards throwing away matches, and only lost narrowly at Gloucester and Cardiff last term and to Glasgow (9-6) in 2007-8. They beat the Borders 25-0 three years ago and drew 6-6 with Edinburgh in 2001-2, and their pedigree shows five successive appearances in the quarter-finals before 2007, as well as the narrow final defeat to Munster in 2006.
• Nicky Robinson rescued Gloucester from the Heineken Cup abyss with a late penalty that extinguished an impressive Dragons display at Kingsholm. The Wales stand-off kicked 14 points, but his winning strike did not arrive until five minutes from time in the opening game of Glasgow's group last night.
The Dragons had been on course for a famous win – their first in 11 attempts against English opposition in the tournament. They outscored Gloucester 2-1 on tries after stand-off James Arlidge and No 8 Joe Bearman claimed first-half touchdowns. But Robinson proved the difference, landing four penalties and converting flanker Akapusi Qera's 25th-minute touchdown.
