Glasgow Warriors have been in a semi-final-style focus for more than a month and nothing will change as they head to Wales for Friday’s Magners League final-four showdown with the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium, says skipper Alastair Kellock.
Glasgow secured their last-four spot with Edinburgh’s defeat to Ulster and the capital side’s dramatic and heroic loss in Dublin on Sunday ensured it would be Swansea and not Firhill for the Warriors’ semi-final.
However, the venue and occasion should not affect the focus of the Warriors team who won their last four league games in an effective knockout situation knowing they could not afford anything but a victory in each one.
“We had a team meeting this morning and it was just like the one straight after the Six Nations before we went to Munster,” said Kellock.
“We lost that game but came very close and it meant that we had to be focused for the last four games because we basically couldn’t afford a slip-up.
“We were going well up until the Six Nations and then lost a couple of games during the championship which left us hanging on a bit for a play-off place, albeit that we had three home games in a row, but winning your home games isn’t a given in this league and we also had to win on Friday at Llanelli.
“That shows how tight the league is the Scarlets are near the bottom but their attacking rugby can stretch any side and they had eight losing bonus points over the season which shows how competitive they are, and we had to go there and win with a bonus point which was a great result, even if in the end it didn’t help our league position.”
Kellock believes that four-game run has honed the Warriors’ form to their advantage.
“Momentum is a fantastic thing in rugby if you can build it and our attitude and focus has been spot on since that Munster game.
“We didn’t quite get the result in Limerick but from then on we stepped it up.
“Now we’re here in the semis we have to enjoy it. We have worked hard all season to get there but the emphasis should be on the fact that it is a semi-final and there’s another game for us if we win.”