A look ahead of Leinster v Glasgow

It’s first versus third at the Aviva Stadium in the final fixture of the final round of matches.

Leaders Leinster made sure of top spot with a record 76-5 victory over Zebre last weekend, but it was a very different story for Glasgow as they were beaten 33-7 by Benetton in Treviso.

That saw the champions drop down to third as the Bulls moved above them. Having sat in second for most of the season, they are now in danger of ending up fourth with the Sharks just a point behind them.

Head coach Franco Smith said: "We were all obviously disappointed after last weekend.

"If that happened at the beginning of the season, one would think there's something big wrong, but I think it’s something that sometimes happens to all teams at the back end of the season.

"It's usually a lot of pressure that's been felt over the season that's now telling, but we can bounce back.”

He added: “If you’re the URC champions like we are, we play the opposition's final every week, but it's not an excuse, it's part of our learning curve.

"This season up to now, we absolutely fought every game to not lose and we remained second in the league for 16 games.

“I think on top of that with all the international games, there's a little bit of tiredness.

"I must say, the determination Benetton had on the field is something we'll have to take from them.

"We need a little bit more of that determination that we've had in so many games this year.”

As for Leinster, their focus remains firmly fixed on ending that much talked about four year wait for a trophy, while being aware of just how tough a challenge they face.

Their Kiwi assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal said: “The reality is there are many hungry teams trying to win the URC at the moment as well. We don’t feel entitled or anything. We’re going to have to work hard, we’re going to have to be committed.

“We’re preparing for Glasgow after a decent performance last weekend and the challenge for us is to build on our own momentum through the things we can do well.”

Lineups: 

Leinster Rugby (caps in brackets):
15. Hugo Keenan (74)
14. Tommy O’Brien (44)
13. Robbie Henshaw (103)
12. Jordie Barrett (11)
11. Jimmy O’Brien (98)
10. Sam Prendergast (30)
9. Fintan Gunne (14)

1. Andrew Porter (136)
2. Dan Sheehan (69)
3. Thomas Clarkson (55)
4. RG Snyman (18)
5. James Ryan (93)
6. Ryan Baird (81)
7. Scott Penny (84)
8. Jack Conan (162) CAPTAIN

Replacements:
16. Rónan Kelleher (75)
17. Jack Boyle (24)
18. Tadhg Furlong (154)
19. Diarmuid Mangan (14)
20. Max Deegan (132)
21. Luke McGrath (230)
22. Ciarán Frawley (100)
23. Jamie Osborne (61)

Glassgow Warriors (caps in brackets):

1 Jamie Bhatti (122)
2 Seb Stephen (0)
3 Fin Richardson (6)
4 Jare Oguntibeju (8)
5 Alex Samuel (37)
6 Macenzzie Duncan (1)
7 Rory Darge (64)
8 Euan Ferrie (36)

9 Ben Afshar (21)
10 Adam Hastings (67)
11 Kyle Steyn (C) (89)
12 Sione Tuipulotu (65)
13 Huw Jones (80)
14 Sebastian Cancelliere (57)
15 Kyle Rowe (34)

Replacements

16 Gregor Hiddleston (24)
17 Nathan McBeth (55)
18 Murphy Walker (14)
19 JP du Preez (31)
20 Scott Cummings (139)
21 Stafford McDowall (91)
22 George Horne (136)
23 Tom Jordan (68)