My Glasgow Warriors players have developed a siege mentality as they face one of the biggest challenges of their rugby careers tonight.

Meeting European champions and Magners League table-toppers Leinster at the Royal Dublin Showgrounds would be a massive ask for a full-strength Glasgow … but we will be without 13 first-choice players through injuries and international demands.

However, I have been delighted with our preparations and the steely determination in the build-up to this crucial match. It will require a backs-to-the-wall effort and we will give it everything we have because we must not return home empty-handed.

Although we trail tonight’s opponents by just one point, our next game will also be a testing assignment – a trip to face champions Munster at Thomond Park a week tomorrow with no guarantee how many international players I will have available for selection given the demands of a bruising RBS 6 Nations campaign.

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