I HAVE few quibbles about the squad BVC has named for the Test against Tonga at Rugby Park on Saturday. Mainly because, I have known him since he was a boy, I would like to have seen Gordon Reid given a start. However, I have been impressed by how Al Dickinson has performed in the two games so far. He's clearly the man in possesion and, given the attritional aspect we can expect from the Tongans' playing style, I suspect both Gordy and Ryan Grant will be introduced after an hour or so.
It will, however, be interesting to see which of the replacements plays where, since both are primarily loose-head rather than tight-head props. With Euan Murray injured, Jon Welsh just back from injury and Zander Fargeson being still, exciting prospect though he is, too-young for Test rugby, we are a wee bit short on that side of the scrum.
Again, after the way he performed following his early introduction as replacement for Mark Bennett, Sean Lamont deserves to wear the number 13 shirt. Also, with Sean Maitland injured, Tim Visser was the obvious man to recall. He will know, however - he needs a big game on Saturday.
OBVIOUSLY, with Wales facing the All Blacks on Saturday, the Scarlets v Glasgow Pro12 clash will be very-much a case of dirt tracking (as it is known to Lions afficianados) on a grand scale.
For the uninitiated, the Lions "Dirt Trackers" are the non-Test squad players, condemned to spend their midweeks having the shit kicked out of them by the non-Test wannabees of the Southern Hemisphere. Their job is to, fly the flag, take the cheap shots, keep the heid and keep winning.
That, in brief, is the task facing the Warriors in Llanelli on Friday night. There is, however, a core of steel running through the Warriors' squad, and, while it will be hard - they are capable of winning down there in deepest, Welshest Wales. Always assuming, of course, the man with the whistle isn't as much of a homer as the two Welsh touch judges and the Welsh TMO will be.
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