Glasgow stand in Leinster's way
Reigning champions Leinster know a victory in Glasgow over the Warriors will complete the first step of their defence of their Heineken Cup title on Sunday.
The defending champions will qualify for the tournament’s quarterfinals if they beat the Scottish side, who are second place in the pool but six points adrift of the Irish province, this week.
Leinster are unbeaten in the pool stages and produced a devastating performance when they beat former champions Bath in the last round but they will know better than anyone that Glasgow will be a tough nut to crack in their own backyard.
The Scots have begun to build a real fortress mentality at Firhill Stadium and have already beaten both Bath and Montpellier on their home patch during this season’s pool stages.
Glasgow need to beat their fellow Pro12 outfit if they are to keep their own slim hopes of qualification for the knock-out stages of European rugby’s premier tournament.
The teams:
Glasgow: 15 Rory Lamont, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Stuart Hogg, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Colin Shaw, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 John Barclay, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Alastair Kellock, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Ed Kalman, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 John Welsh.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Ryan Grant, 19 Tom Ryder, 20 Johnnie Beattie, 21 Colin Gregor, 22 Troy Nathan, 23 Scott Wight.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Fergus McFadden, 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Isa Nacewa, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Sean O’Brien, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Leo Cullen, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Heinke Van der Merwe, 18 Nathan White, 19 Damian Browne, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Eoin O’Malley.
Date: Saturday, January 14
Venue: Firhill Arena
Kick-off: 12.45 (12.45 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
