Townsend: More to come from Vernon

Vernon has reinvented himself over the last year, having made the switch from the back-row - a position in which he has earned 20 caps for Scotland.

The Warriors have arguably not seen the best of him at centre yet in the GUINNESS PRO12 but he was given the nod in their narrow 12-9 European defeat to Toulouse on Saturday, suggesting he is in favour at Scotstoun.

And Townsend says that with his injuries now firmly in the past, Vernon can carve out an important role in the back-line.

"Richie missed a lot of the beginning of the season with an Achilles injury, so he's only played the last two or three games, and played really well," Townsend said.

"He did really well against the Dragons: had a couple of good carries, good tackles. When he came off the bench at the weekend, I thought he did really well.

"We felt he was developing very well at 13 in the last year, especially during the Six Nations.

"He scored two tries away to Leinster - probably should have scored a third. Had a great summer playing sevens rugby and he's shown what he's done in the last couple of games.

"It's great we know we have someone who can cover both wings and centre if needed, and has a real physical approach to the game."

In a game of penalties, Toulouse scrum-half Sebastien Bezy successfully booted four while Finn Russell and Duncan Weir combined for three as the Warriors came up just short in Europe.

Townsend added: "The effort was there in a game that never really kicked off. However a mixture of the quality of the opposition, their excellent defence and our errors, particularly handling, left us just short."

Follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12