Guinness PRO14 players featured heavily in the news this week with both Ireland and Scotland naming their squads for the Rugby World Cup.

Players from the Championship have battled away against compatriots to earn spots on the plane and now for Scotland’s cohort, attentions turn to starting XVs.

Glasgow Warriors lead the way with 12 players selected in the 31, Edinburgh with 10, and there looks to be a battle for a starting berth between players from these clubs at tighthead.

What better way to examine your front rows than a tussle in Tbilisi? Last weekend’s win over tank-shaped Georgians the way to sort propping boys from men.

Five remain. At loosehead there’s Allan Dell and Gordon Reid, Simon Berghan covers both sides and at tighthead Zander Fagerson and Willem Nel.

With Nel on 31 caps he appears to be the incumbent but he’s also 33, and with a decade in hand Fagerson is charging up behind like a frenzied bull with a souped-up loose game.

Also bear in mind Steve Hansen’s comments about favouring mobility over scrum power when axing centurion tighthead Owen Franks last week, the modern game perhaps suiting Fagerson’s style.

The Guinness PRO14 statistics from last season back up the Glasgow Warrior’s argument for contributions around the park, where over 699 minutes he made 88 metres, 117 tackles, and 24 passes, also scoring two tries.

In slightly fewer minutes – 604 – Nel made 19 metres, 93 tackles, scored one try and passed the ball 12 times.

But of course a prop’s first job is in the scrum and while this is a little harder to analyse on stats Nel can claim the advantage in a few areas, conceding nine penalties overall compared with Fagerson’s 13, and winning four turnovers to three – a further Georgian Test awaits the pair this weekend.