Glasgow are twice as dangerous a team going into the Rabodirect PRO12 semi-final against Leinster than they were last year, believe the Warriors coaching team.
Gregor Townsend’s team are underdogs against the Irish province at the RDS in Dublin, but forwards coach Shade Munro, who was with the team when they narrowly lost last year’s semi-final against the same opposition at the same venue, believes that the gap is now minimal.
“I think the team didn’t quite believe that they could win it last year until 20 minutes from the end,” recalled Munro of the match lost narrowly 19-15.
“Waiting to see how the game pans out doesn’t make you a winner, you have to win the game from the start, and that’s kind of what happened last year.
“I think the belief this year has changed. We expect to win games, expect to win away from home, and don’t fear anyone. In the past we possibly feared the likes of Leinster and Munster away from home, but that doesn’t happen now.”
Munro also points to the development of the side this season since head coach Gregor Townsend and defence specialist Matt Taylor became involved.
“Last year there was a big emphasis on our defence and stopping teams from scoring against us,” he continued.
“We did achieve that and looking at the tables we conceded 23 tries last year and only scored 34, but we had a kicker with an 88% success rate in Duncan (Weir).
“This year we have scored 66 tries, so the attack has certainly improved and while teams know how we defend now, it is still strong “Our success last year was based on the fact that we made ourselves difficult to beat.
“That still remains the case, but we now are also in a position to score more tries, and play further back in the pitch, which does make a huge difference.”
The other main change, believes Munro, is the winning mentality of the additions to the squad.
“Certainly, Sean Maitland and Josh Strauss have come from winning backgrounds, as has Matt,” he said.
“And having people in the squad who know how to win does rub off on people.
“We have players who have been there for a long number of years and haven’t won something, who have got to semi-finals but not crossed that line, but now we’ve improved as a team, as a squad, and bringing in people who have gone on to win things can only make a difference.”
Head coach Townsend accepts the underdog tag, but having run Leinster close in Dublin just a month and a half ago, believes his side can go all the way.
“There’s pride in the way we’ve played this season but we’re not satisfied now because we have another game to prepare for, our toughest game of the season. We’ll have time to be satisfied in three weeks.”
Townsend added: “I would think we are feared now, our results show that.”