GLASGOW Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend believes that neither he nor his players were really ready for last year's PRO12 final.

Today, he is sure the whole squad is far better equipped to make the most of the big occasion.

Townsend has made some significant changes to his team for this evening's game against Munster in Belfast - notably in the second row, where Leone Nakarawa starts instead of outgoing club captain Al Kellock, and in the back row, where Rob Harley returns. In the backs, last week's semi-final try-scorer DTH van der Merwe is preferred on the wing to Niko Matawalu, who is on the bench alongside Kellock.

Munster remain formidable opponents despite having lost two key players to injury in captain Peter O'Mahony and scrum-half Conor Murray, but Townsend thinks the valuable experience his men gained in last year's defeat by Leinster will ensure they are ready to withstand the might of the Irish side.

"I believe we weren't ready for the final - the occasion itself affected maybe some of the decision-making," he said of last year's 34-12 defeat. "I include the coach as well as the players in that. I firmly believe we'll be ready for the game this time.

"We didn't get the build-up right, and I learned a lot from that. We'd burned a lot of nervous energy.

"We had a long build-up to that game - maybe we built it up too much, talking about the achievement and what it would mean to win a final, rather than just treating it as another game.

"We've shown this year, when we've prepared well and trained well, we've been consistent in our performances. Yes, it will take an extra effort to win a final. But you can't think too much beyond that. You have to think about what will win us the game.

"I'm very confident we'll see a much more focused team. But, even with that, it'll be a really tough game."

No matter how much coaches and players can learn from experience, Townsend continued, there are some things that cannot be coached. Finn Russell's inspired pass to Van der Merwe last week was an example of that, and the coach knows it may take something just as special to get the better of Munster.

"The more experience they get, you see them seizing their opportunities. That's the most satisfying thing about being a coach: seeing a player grab his opportunity and step up to the mark.

"But it is all down to them. You can create an environment where they get an opportunity or they get into that position. But they are the ones who have to get over the line. It was great to see them do it last week."

History shows that many teams have a better chance of winning a final the second time around. All the same, Townsend knows that, no matter how much his squad have matured over the past 12 months, there will be no guarantee of success against opponents who have far more experience at this level.

"We'll be in a better position with our experience. Whether that leads us to win, we'll see.

"What I have seen from this group is that they have learned from previous experiences. The way they came back at the weekend showed they can take a bit of adversity and challenge, yet still work out a way to win.

"We've gone away and won in France this year, from missing out the year before. So I have seen people in this group in similar situations, figuring out a way to win. That will be the way to go."