mens
united-rugby-championship
Former Edinburgh mainstay Jamie Ritchie is set to debut for Glasgow Warriors this weekend as he is named at blindside flanker for the upcoming URC matchup against Benetton in Treviso.
Before moving to France in 2025, Ritchie made a total of 133 appearances for Glasgow’s fierce Scottish competitors.
The Scotland international and former Test captain is among five changes made to the lineup that secured a bonus-point win over Sale Sharks in the Investec Champions Cup, with head coach Franco Smith giving the summer recruit from Perpignan his first opportunity to play in Glasgow colors.
The inclusion of the thirty-year-old prompts Euan Ferrie to shift to No.8, while current Scotland captain Rory Darge rounds out the back row.
Additionally, young fly-half Matthew Urwin is set for his first start. The former Scotland U20 talent will don the No.10 jersey for the first time following the signing of his initial professional contract with the club earlier this summer.
British & Irish Lions prop Rory Sutherland is prepared for his season debut after recovering from a calf issue, joining Seb Stephen and Zander Fagerson in the front row. Max Williamson makes his return to partner Scott Cummings in the second row, marking his 50th appearance for the club.
Jamie Dobie shifts in from the wing to begin at scrum-half alongside Urwin, while Sione Tuipulotu and Stafford McDowall maintain their solid midfield collaboration. Ollie Smith enters the lineup after his try-scoring effort from the bench against Sale, joining Kyle Steyn and Kyle Rowe in the back three.
Gregor Hiddleston makes a comeback to the matchday 23 after being sidelined due to injury last week, while Alex Craig is listed among the substitutes just days after finalizing a new agreement with the club.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn (captain), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Matthew Urwin, 9 Jamie Dobie; 1 Rory Sutherland, 2 Seb Stephen, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Max Williamson, 5 Scott Cummings, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 7 Rory Darge, 8 Euan Ferrie.
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Alex Craig, 20 Jare Oguntibeju, 21 Gregor Brown, 22 Callum Reidy, 23 Bayley Kuenzle.
