Just days before Glasgow’s opening European fixture of the season the club’s 41-man squad to tackle Sale, Exeter and La Rochelle in Pool 2 of the Champions Cup has finally been confirmed. Here’s a quick summary of who’s in and who’s out compared to the initial selection in 2018/19.
Note – Both Tim Swinson and Kyle Steyn were added to Glasgow’s 2018/19 Champions squad later in the season.
Squad composition – 2019/20 v 2018/19
3 v 3 – LH prop
4 v 3 – Hooker
3 v 4 – TH prop
4 v 4 – Locks
8 v 8 – Back row
3 v 3 – Scrum half
2 v 2 – Stand off
6 v 6 – Centre
8 v 8 – Back 3
41 v 41 – Total
There are 50 players in Glasgow’s full-time squad this season. Two players on short-term contracts have been included – Johnny Matthews and Glenn Bryce. That leaves 11 full-time pros who have missed out as things stand:
LH prop – George Thornton
LH prop – Charlie Capps
Hooker – Grant Stewart (injured)
TH prop – Siua Halanukonuka (injured)
TH prop – Petrus du Plessis (busy with coaching!)
Lock – Jonny Gray (rest protocols)
Back row – Jale Vakaloloma (injured)
Back row – Matt Smith
Scrum half – Nick Frisby
Centre – Patrick Kelly
Wing – Lee Jones (injured)
Five of the players listed – Stewart, Halanukonuka, Gray, Vakaloloma and Jones – were initially named on the EPCR site as part of the Glasgow squad. On Wednesday they were swapped out for Matthews, Rae, Gordon, Ashe and Hughes. Any of these swaps can be directly reversed during the pool stages if required.
The rules allow for 5 other changes to the squad prior to the quarter-finals (and a further 3 during the knockouts) so the door isn’t closed for the omitted players. At least 3 of the pool stage replacements must be a front row though and 1 must be a medical replacement. This means only 1 change is a completely free choice.
On Top Of The Moon 