Glasgow will revert to tried and tested ways of preparation and to a reassuring presence on the pitch as they go for glory in the Guinness PRO12 final in Belfast tonight.
Rob Harley was left out of the two matches against Ulster in the last fortnight after being a fixture in the Warriors side all season, but the Scotland blindside is back to take on Munster at the Kingspan Stadium tonight.
Gregor Townsend has made five changes in all and leaves fan favourites Al Kellock and Niko Matawalu on the bench, but the lessons from the grand final defeat to Leinster a year ago have been learned.
“We didn’t get the build-up right last year, and I learned a lot from that,” he admitted. “Maybe we built it up too much, talking about what it would mean to win a final, rather than just treating it as another game.
“Last year we weren’t ready for the final – the occasion itself affected maybe some of the decision-making, and I include the coach as well as the players on that. I firmly believe we’ll be ready this time.
“We’ve shown this year, when we’ve prepared well and trained well, we’ve been consistent in our performances. It will take an extra effort to win a final, but you can’t think too much beyond that. You have to think about what will win us the game.
“We’ll do our normal thing. There were a couple of things we added in last year, the night before the game we won’t be doing that this year.”
In the end only Ryan Grant is missing injured from the Glasgow lineup as a casualty from the bruising semi-final against Ulster, while Munster have lost two of their lynchpins in British Lion Conor Murray and club captain Peter O’Mahony.
Gordon Reid is an able deputy for Grant and Leone Nakarawa is preferred to Kellock. Ryan Wilson starts at open-side in place of Chris Fusaro. The surprise is veteran Dougie Hall, in his final game before retirement, starting at hooker.
“I’m open-minded, and every week I pick the players I believe are the right guys to win us the game,” continued Townsend. “Dougie played well in his last two games and the set-piece experience he brings, we believe, will be needed this weekend.
“Rob Harley was very consistent for us for most of the season and was one of the first names on the team sheet. He’s fresh, and after two attritional semi-finals We believe that playing against this Munster team he’ll be the perfect foil for what we expect them to do.”
Kellock, also retiring at the end of this game, doesn’t start but Townsend expects him to be there at the death.
“I spoke to the players on Tuesday morning, about selection, and he was the first one I spoke to,” said the coach. “He’s been terrific, he got behind the team as you would expect, and he’s very motivated to get on the field.
“He was on concussion protocol from last week but by the time we started training as a team he’d got back into training with the team as well.
“We feel Al’s presence or impact at the end of the game will help us win.”
In the meantime, he has total faith in the Jonny Gray-Leone Nakarawa partnership.
“Leone brings lots to the game. He carried the ball three or four times in those 15 phases before our try against Ulster, and he’s excellent in delivery from the line-out.
“I better not talk him up too much but Jonny brings so much. When you look at the stats we have on the players, he’s always leading the forwards in everything.
“He’s got a big responsibility because he’s calling the line-outs. Al has been a tremendous help with him making sure we get it right.
Munster are a formidable final opponent, even without two of their stars, he added.
“They have a very good set piece, one of the best forwards to ever play the game in Paul O’Connell, a strong scrummage and a strong lineout drive.
“They’ve got a game plan that’s based on winning the gain line; a lot of teams do have that, but they go about it in the most direct and uncompromising way.
“They’ve only lost one game since New Year’s Day.
“If you’re playing in a semi-final or final you’ll be playing a quality side who are good in attack and defence, so we expect a really tough challenge.”