Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend believes the much-anticipated debut of Mark Bennett will be worth the wait when he takes the field against the Newport Gwent Dragons tomorrow night. Bennett moved to Clermont Auvergne two years ago despite an offer to sign for the Warriors, but ruptured knee ligaments kept him out of the game for six months. Now fully fit, the Ayrshire youngster starred for Scotland Under-20s last weekend against Italy, picking up the man of the match award, but has yet to start a game for the Warriors after arriving on loan in November. But Townsend thinks the time is right for Bennett to make his impact, and told the Herald: "Physically, he is back to the level, or past the level, that he was before his injury because he did take a while to recover – an ACL is the worst injury you can have and it has taken him a while to get back to top pace. “I've seen him at training and with Stirling in the British & Irish Cup, when I saw his game against Bedford and he was probably the best player on the field. He has carried that on to the 20s and has earned his opportunity. "He has impressed me with the way he set about working to improve from when I was first involved with him a couple of years ago. “He had undoubted abilities, acceleration, an eye for a gap, strong in the contact. What I think he has added to his game over the last season with Clermont is a linking ability and his catching and passing. He will be a much more mature person." Duncan Weir, Henry Pyrgos and Pat McArthur are all back for the Warriors from international duty with Scotland, while DTH van der Merwe has also been restored after a head injury. The Dragons make only one change from the side that narrowly beat Benetton Treviso in their last outing, with prop Owen Evans replacing Phil Price. The Welsh outfit are unbeaten against Scottish opposition at Rodney Parade since September 2008, when the Warriors took home the points following a 12-6 win. But assistant coach Rob Appleyard insists Newport will have to be better than they were in their last meeting – a 37-6 defeat last November – if they are to get anything out of this weekend’s game, despite going into the game on the back of three straight wins. "We were shocked by the tempo and ferocity they brought to the table [in that game]," said Appleyard. "We're going to have to be the ones who bring that fire this week." "We've given an opportunity to some of our players to get on there and prove [themselves] for places and that has upped the performance levels through the games and has got us the wins.”
