Hooker Chris Fortey will make his 100th appearance for Worcester Warriors as he leads the team into battle in the LV= Cup clash against Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday (KO 3pm).
Fortey will captain the team as he brings up another key career milestone and Director of Rugby Mike Ruddock makes 11 changes to the side that opened the competition with victory over Newcastle Falcons.
Fit again duo Dale Rasmussen and Graham Kitchener both return to the starting line-up and French powerhouse prop Olivier Sourgens is named among the replacements.
Ruddock said: “It’s a fantastic milestone for Chris Fortey. He is a hugely respected member of the squad and he has grown over the last few years into a superb leader and a great ambassador for the club.
“It’s a very fitting tribute to his character that he has been asked to lead the Warriors on his 100th appearance.
A total of 15 Academy graduates or members are named in the 23-man squad and highly-rated back row Matt Kvesic is named on the bench and is set to become the first product of the club’s AASE scheme to feature for the senior side.
“I picked Matt to play in a couple of warm up games in pre-season and his stand out skills set and maturity, at such a young age, really caught the eye. I had no hesitation in giving him this first opportunity to be part of the senior panel against Scarlets,” added Ruddock.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on this fine young player just yet, but I do believe he has all the attributes to become a more regular fixture in our panel during the coming seasons.”
Warriors: 15 Calum MacRae 14 Marcel Garvey 13 Dale Rasmussen 12 Greg King 11 Rico Gear 10 George Crook 9 Ollie Frost; 1 Adam Black 2 Chris Fortey (capt) 3 Jack Gilding 4 Graham Kitchener 5 Will Bowley 6 James Collins 7 Jake Abbott 8 Matt Cox
Replacements: 16 Callum Black 17 Jordan Page 18 Olivier Sourgens 19 Craig Gillies 20 Matt Kvesic 21 Jonny Arr 22 Mike Penn 23 Charlie Fellows
