GLASGOW Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend has insisted he is not taking a risk by throwing untried centre Nick Grigg into the side for the top-of-the-table clash against Cardiff tonight.

Grigg has twice come off the bench for the Warriors, but this evening’s PRO12 game between the two unbeaten sides will be his first start. At 5ft 9in he is one of the shortest members of the squad, but Townsend insisted that he has every confidence in the New-Zealand-born centre, who first came to his attention by way of a highlights reel.

“Nowadays you get a number of agents in the Southern Hemisphere that pass on players that are Scottish-qualified, and you have a good look at them - and there was something there,” the coach explained. “So we brought him in on trial and he got a partnership contract with Stirling and the academy.

“He did really well. He changed body shape, he was involved in the sevens for a while, and he played really well for Stirling, so he earned his pro contract.

“We've been really pleased with how he progressed in pre-season. He was unlucky against Harlequins - he got knocked out, so he missed the Gloucester game. He played well against Canada, so I've been waiting for an opportunity to give him a run.

“We have full confidence in him. What he does really well is tackle - he’s a very good low tackler. He's obviously not played that many games, but from what we've seen he'll cope very well.

“In terms of attack, he runs well with the ball and has very good footwork. He's been breaking his personal speed times at training in the last couple of weeks, so he's in the best shape to make the most of his opportunity.”

Grigg, who turns 24 on Sunday, is eligible for Scotland thanks to a grandfather from Ayrshire and has represented the national sevens squad. He insisted he was up for the challenge.

“It makes it all the better, I think,” he said. “Obviously there is that element of nerves and stuff, but I like to have a bit of nerves before a game, because it really pushes you to excel and perform at that level. So, fingers crossed I’ll give it my all and see

how it goes.”

Townsend has rung the changes in the backs, bringing in Rory Clegg, Lee Jones and Ali Price as well as Grigg. Clegg is at stand-off, with Peter Horne moving to centre. In the pack, Josh Strauss returns at No 8 after injury, while Mark Bennett is on the bench for the first time after his post-Olympic break.

Meanwhile, Finn Russell will turn out for Ayr today in his first game back after being injured in last season’s PRO12 semi-final and could come into contention for a place in the Warriors team to play Ulster at home next Friday. “Being able to test out in an unstructured environment should mean he’s available to us the following week,” Townsend said of Russell. “We always looked at him playing a club game.

“If it means two or three club games, that will depend on his form and fitness and how he reacts to contact. He’s done contact for two weeks now. He’s looked good in training.”

Glasgow Warriors (v Cardiff Blues tonight at the BT Sport Arms Park, kick-off 7pm): S Hogg; T Seymour, N Grigg, P Horne, L Jones; R Clegg, A Price; G Reid, F Brown, Z Fagerson, T Swinson, J Gray, R Harley, R Wilson, J Strauss. Substitutes: P MacArthur, A Allan, S Puafisi, G Peterson, L Wynne, G Hart, M Bennett, R Hughes.