The most exciting run-in of Celtic/Italian rugby’s 14-year history will hit the finish line in Belfast on Saturday. With no sign of Ulster in this Guinness Pro 12 final it remains to be seen exactly how many turn up at Kingspan Stadium, but if the last month is an accurate form guide then it will be worth the effort.
For Munster, looking for their fourth title, there is the supplementary issue of seeing off Paul O’Connell in style before he takes up residency in France, most likely Toulon. For Glasgow, who are seeing off a handful of players themselves, the agenda is more clear-cut: winning will validate the progress of the last three seasons, in which they have reached back-to-back semi-finals before last season losing their first decider – to Leinster.
Getting across that line has presented Gregor Townsend with a few painful decisions. Like telling the fit-again captain Al Kellock, who like O’Connell will be playing his last game for the club, that he will start on the bench rather than in the second row, despite having recovered from the concussion suffered in the semi-final win over Ulster. Or swapping Adam Ashe with Rob Harley, and Ryan Wilson for Chris Fusaro. All of which suggests they needed to sort things out up front to withstand the Munster challenge.
“We know we have to get certain fundamentals right to win games no matter who we’re playing against,” Townsend said. “It starts with being strong in defence, and we prepare on what we expect from Munster in terms of their patterns of play and what they might do at set pieces. But if you’ve got someone you’ve got to tackle ahead of you you’ve got to knock him down, so we know we have to do that to stop them getting any momentum.
“On the other side, obviously, when we have the ball we know we’ve got to be accurate. We’ll have to work hard to create opportunities, but if we do – in finals, you’ve got to take them.”
The sequence of Glasgow’s league finishes over the last four campaigns – fourth to first in that order – suggests good things and they will be further encouraged by the removal from the Munster equation of Conor Murray and captain Peter O’Mahony. Along with O’Connell and Ian Keatley they make up the cornerstones of the Munster team. In which case O’Connell will be carrying more of the load than he might have planned.
“Look, I think it goes back to the fact that it’s an occasion,” Anthony Foley said. “There’s a lot of players that won’t play for Munster again. There’s a few there who will be togging out, there’s a few who won’t, but Paul has done above and beyond for the province, for Young Munster and for Ireland.
“It wasn’t spoken about last week – it hasn’t been mentioned this week. I think everyone’s intelligent enough to understand the situation, to go about doing their job. If we all do our jobs to the best of our ability, we’ll get the outcome we deserve. If we start thinking about different things and getting distracted by it, getting emotional … then that’s a negative. We want to stay on top of it and be positive around it and go and give it our best performance and see where that takes us.”
The swing on the injury front suggests it may take the title to Glasgow for the first time. Having been rattled up front by Ulster, the reaction from Townsend should pay dividends. Munster, meanwhile, will be hoping the locals change the habits of a lifetime and give them a dig out.
Glasgow Warriors Hogg; Seymour, Vernon, Horne, Van der Merwe; Russell, Pyrgos; Reid, Hall, De Klerk, Nakarawa, Gray, Harley, Wilson, Strauss (captain).
Replacements Brown, Yanuyanutawa, Welsh, Kellock, Fusaro, Matawalu, Weir, Lamont.
Munster Jones; Earls, Smith, Hurley (captain), Zebo; Keatley, Williams; Kilcoyne, Guinazu, Botha, Holland, O’Connell, Ryan, Butler, Stander.
Replacements Casey, Cronin, Archer, Dougall, O’Donoghue, Sheridan, Hanrahan, O’Mahony.
