Nakarawa poised for Scotstoun comeback 46 months after he last played at home for Glasgow

Leone Nakarawa will pull on a Glasgow kit at home for the first time since sealing his Scotstoun return when Warriors host Zebre on Friday night.

The Fijian second row rejoined the club last month after being sacked by Racing 92 and he appeared at Sale in the Heineken Champions Cup. However, it was April 2016 when he last wore the Glasgow shirt at Scotstoun – in a PRO12 game versus Zebre – before switching to the Parisians and the Top 14 scene.

There is no sign of a resolution to the legal situation between Racing and the ousted Nakarara, who was first laid off on November 12 and then dismissed outright on December 6 by club president Jacky Lorenzetti for returning 16 days late from a post-World Cup holiday.

A conciliation hearing was due to take place this week but was delayed due to a lawyers’ strike in France. Nakararwa had a season and a half remaining in his contract when he was let go and it is believed he is claiming compensation in the region of between €600,000 and €800,000 from Racing.

For Friday night’s return he will be joined in Dave Rennie’s line-up by scrum-half George Horne, hooker George Turner and back rows Tom Gordon and Matt Fagerson after they were released from training with the Scotland squad to take on Italy, while Kyle Steyn is on the bench.

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Rennie’s team are returning to action after a three-week break and the head coach is now hoping to see his side kick on as they look to rescue their Guinness PRO14 play-off ambitions. “The boys are in good shape,” he said. “They have come back in after a bit of a break and we’ve prepared well.

“We’ve played really well over the last few matches, so it’s good to have them freshened up physically and mentally. We’ve got a good side going out there, including five players back from Scotland camp. They’ve slotted back in seamlessly as you’d expect – they’re guys that have played a lot of rugby for us over the last few months.”

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