Peter Horne and Tommy Seymour, who have both been out of action (Horne with a broken hand and Seymour with a back problem), are set to return to action on Friday night when Glasgow Warriors play Benetton Treviso.
Kenny Murray, one of head coach Gregor Townsend's assistants at Glasgow, has revealed both have been running with the team this week, so far without any sign of a problem.
"Pete [Horne] has been training – trained well," Murray said. "If he gets through and comes out without any problems he will be in the mix for this weekend. Tommy [Seymour] trained well too. Hopefully he will be in the mix as well."
The real excitement at the club, though, has been giving the players their first look at Brian Alainu’uese, the Simona Under-20s lock they have signed on a short-term contract from Waikato in New Zealand to cover the sudden crisis in the second row.
At 6ft 6ins and more than 21 stone, he has the build to take on any rival in the game and Murray says he cannot wait to see him in action. "I can tell you, he is a big man," Murray said. "I watched him doing some tackling, there is a lot of momentum behind that body. I will be really excited to see him on the pitch.
"He arrived last Saturday, trained Monday and yesterday and did not look out of place. There is a lot to learn in a short period. If we are comfortable with where he needs be with plays and set piece plays then he will also come into consideration for this week.
"We have had a few X-factor players over the years – guys like Niko [Matawalu] and Leone [Nakaraswa] – and with his size in particular he could be a potential X-factor player. He is a really nice guy as well, a nice humble, quiet person but I imagine that might change on the pitch."
He is needed. Three locks – Greg Peterson, Tjuiee Uanivi and Scott Cummings – are out for most of the rest of the season and Glasgow are also likely to lose both Jonny Gray and Tim Swinson during the international season – as well as Rob Harley who has been covering the position, leaving them without any cover until Alainu’uese arrived.
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