For the first 40 minutes of Glasgow's Guinness PRO12 opener against Leinster last weekend, Henry Pyrgos made a decent case for himself to be considered the Scotstoun side's first-choice scrum-half.

And in the very last moments of the Warriors' needlessly nervous 22-20 win, Niko Matawalu weighed in with some compelling supporting evidence as well.

Matawalu had replaced Pyrgos after 60 minutes, at which point Glasgow were leading 19-6. By the end of regulation time they had turned that into a one-point deficit, allowing Leinster to take a 20-19 lead as they coughed up two soft scores. Hence the almighty sigh of relief round the ground when the Warriors won a penalty in the shadow of the posts. And hence the gasps of disbelief when Matawalu threatened to run it.

It was only because he was in the wrong position that referee Nigel Owens called Matawalu back. At which point, cooler heads and calmer counsel came into play and the ball was given to Stuart Hogg to clip between the posts. Coach Gregor Townsend would subsequently offer a defence of Matawalu's actions, but it was hardly the most strenuous ever uttered: "We have to educate the players to show what is the most risk-free and sensible decision, but we also have to back players if they believe what they are doing is right for the team."

What do they say about actions speaking louder than words? The scrum-half position at Glasgow operated as some kind of hot desk arrangement last season, as Matawalu, Pyrgos and Chris Cusiter jostled for the berth. Cusiter's departure to Sale has simplified things a little, and the respective performances of the two remaining candidates last weekend made the decision easier still. For today's visit to Cardiff Blues, Pyrgos was clearly the man for the job.

But the man for all season? "Not at all," said Townsend when asked if Pyrgos was now out in front. "We have real competition at scrum-half." The coach mentioned that youngsters Murray McConnell and Ali Price are also in the frame, but for the moment it is all about Pyrgos and Matawalu. And Pyrgos has made the early running.

In fact, you could say he started it last season. Matawalu was picked to start Glasgow's Heineken Cup match against the Blues in Cardiff last December, but there was a chaotic edge to the overall performance and the 29-20 defeat all but ended the Warriors' interest in Europe for another year. Two months later, in the PRO12 clash at the same venue, Pyrgos was preferred for the job - and Glasgow turned the tables almost exactly with a 27-20 win.

The fact Townsend chose not to hit the transfer market after Cusiter's departure suggests he is happy with the options available. But that move gave Pyrgos the green light to assert himself more firmly. Now in his fifth season at Glasgow, he has 12 Scotland caps to his name, but the former Loughborough student, now 25, seems to have spent much of that time in the shadows. If he is ever going to hog the limelight, now is the moment to do it.

"Chris was a really experienced guy with more than 60 caps for Scotland and I learned a huge amount from him," Pyrgos said. "A lot of guys in the squad would have learned things from him. In that sense, his leaving means there is a bit of a change, but I'm part of the leadership group here and this is a good opportunity for me to become even more of a leader and take that role on a little bit.

"But I'm not sure it's only because Chris has left. Last year I think I matured into the role a bit more, just from being in this squad a bit longer. This is my fifth season with Glasgow and I think I generally matured as a person.

"I feel confident in myself, I always have. It is up to Gregor what he wants going into different games. I think you have seen that since he came here; he changes personnel according to who we are playing as well as performances. I just concentrate on myself and try to play well."

It does no harm to Pyrgos's case that he can also kick goals. He will carry that responsibility this afternoon, although it may pass to Duncan Weir if the fly-half comes off the bench. However, just as he relishes the thought of being the main man at scrum-half, being the go-to guy for goal-kicking tickles Pyrgos's fancy as well. "I always did it growing up so it's nice to get the opportunity here," he said. "When I first came here there were a few goal-kickers around so I had to wait my turn to get the opportunity."

The Arms Park's plastic pitch generally attracts attention for the kind of high-tempo game it encourages and Glasgow's first-half performance against Leinster suggested they are perfectly capable of playing that way. But is it really what you want to do against a Blues side who are, after all, rather more used to their own surface than any visiting side can be? Surely, the key to victory lies in frustrating them rather than running them off their feet?

"We don't see things any differently when we're playing away," Pyrgos replied. "We're trying to win every game we play and the game-plan is pretty much the same. It changes depending on who you are playing, but there's nothing major there.

"It's up to us as a team. We look to go out there and play at a tempo, but when it gets a bit loose it's for us to try to control that. We're trying to play fast, but we're trying to be accurate as well. We're not going to win big games if we're not accurate."