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Huw Jones to miss out again as Warriors face Leinster in URC semi-finals

Huw Jones to miss out again as Warriors face Leinster in URC semi-finals

STV News14 hours ago

Glasgow centre Huw Jones will again miss out as Warriors travel to Dublin to face Leinster in the BKT United Rugby Championship semi-finals.
Jones has been missing for several weeks with an Achilles problem and has failed to make the 23-man squad for the Aviva Stadium encounter despite some optimism over his fitness from Scotstoun earlier in the week.
Forwards Matt Fagerson, Jack Dempsey and Zander Fagerson all miss out again as expected but were progressing well in their recoveries earlier in the week.
Head coach Franco Smith has made just two personnel changes following the 36-18 triumph over Stormers last weekend, which took the defending champions into the final four of the competition.
Former Scotland Under-20 international Fin Richardson comes into the starting line-up at tighthead prop as Murphy Walker drops out of the 23.
Adam Hastings is recalled at fly-half to spark a reshuffle in the back division. Tom Jordan moves to inside centre, where he will partner Sione Tuipulotu. Stafford McDowall drops to the bench.
Warriors are making their third trip to Dublin inside two months and will need to make further improvement.
Glasgow were thrashed 52-0 by Leinster in April in the Champions Cup and lost 13-5 in the Irish capital in the final match of the regular URC season.
Smith told glasgowwarriors.org: 'Leinster are the standard setters in this competition. They finished top of the standings for a reason, and have consistently out-performed teams across the course of this season while showing their strength in depth.
'It is a challenge that we know we will need to be at our best to meet, and the players are focused on the task at hand.
'Training this week has been sharp and competitive, with every player working hard for each other to put this squad in the best possible position.'
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