Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend says his side must wipe the slate clean after a disappointing start to their GUINNESS PRO12 title defence last weekend. Scarlets put in a herculean effort to end the Warriors’ 20-match PRO12 unbeaten streak at Scotstoun, which stretched back to November 2013. And in response Townsend has decided to shake up his team against Connacht, with winger Junior Bulumakau – who scored against both Clermont and Canada during pre-season – making his competitive debut for the club. Fellow new recruits Mike Blair and Rory Clegg, who both joined Glasgow from Newcastle Falcons over the summer, start at scrum-half and fly-half respectively. Elsewhere loosehead Alex Allan and hooker Pat MacArthur will pack down with Mike Cusack in the tight-head, while back-row Hugh Blake is in line for a debut appearance off the bench. Glasgow’s record against Connacht makes pretty reading for Townsend – they’ve won their last seven matches over the Irish province – but he insists his side must leave nothing to chance. "We were disappointed to lose our opening game against the Scarlets, but the effort in the second-half last week was really encouraging and much more what we expect from our players. "For those selected to play Connacht, it's an opportunity to put what we've learned last week and what we've been working on in training this week into a much-improved performance. "Connacht are a very good side who have a strong set-piece and come into this game off the back of a win against the Dragons last weekend. Our two opening fixtures were always going to be tough and we know we'll have to perform very well to win tomorrow night. "Our supporters created a fantastic atmosphere last Saturday and we're looking forward to playing in front of them once again." Connacht captain John Muldoon will make his 250th appearance for the province on Friday night and is joined in the back-row by Nepia Fox-Matamua and academy graduate Eoghan Masterson. John Cooney is named at scrum-half with Kieran Marmion, who suffered a minor hip injury in training earlier this week, among the replacements. Should Connacht clinch victory it’ll be the first time they’ve won back-to-back GUINNESS PRO12 games since March. But they’ve traditionally not enjoyed their visits to Scotland, having won just twice on the country’s soil – both against Edinburgh – since 2010. Nevertheless Pat Lam is convinced his talented youngsters will rise to the next challenge after a fine start against Newport Gwent Dragons last weekend. "We understand the enormity of the challenge we have before us against a well-coached Glasgow side stacked full of quality players,” said Lam. “We have yet to win at Scotstoun and we're playing the defending champions who will be fired up after last week's defeat. "But our focus for the growth of our young squad is to compete and perform in challenges like this. "We have trained well this week and we know only performing as a collective will give us a chance." At Scotstoun Stadium, 7:35pm. Referee: Ian Davies (WRU, 33rd competition game) Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White, Mike Adamson (both SRU) Citing Commissioner: Iain Goodall (SRU) TMO: Iain Ramage (SRU) Live on BBC Scotland and TG4
