Leinster losses 'history' for Glasgow, insists assistant coach Nigel Carolan
Glasgow assistant coach Nigel Carolan believes his side have rediscovered their "ruthless" streak in good time to try to defend their United Rugby Championship title.
The Warriors entered the play-offs having lost four of their previous five matches in all competitions, including an alarming 33-7 defeat at Benetton.
But Franco Smith's side banished any concerns about their form when they romped to a five-try 36-18 victory at home to Stormers in Friday's quarter-final to set up a semi-final trip against Leinster at Aviva Stadium this Saturday.
"I definitely think there's a template there (from Friday) that we try and play to," said Carolan. "I think what we showed was really good ambition, some good accuracy. We scored some cracking tries, even though we didn't have a massive amount of the ball.
"But I think what it did show is when we did get chances, we were pretty ruthless and that's what you need this time of the season, as you approach the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
"Every opportunity counts and it's important that you take those chances when they come about."
Glasgow must find a way to redress the balance against a Leinster side who hammered them 52-0 in the Champions Cup in April before defeating them 13-5 in the final league match last month.
Carolan is adamant his side have banished any lingering effects from the heavy European defeat in Dublin two months ago.
"I think it's history now," he said. "We've played them since, and I think what we turned up with the last time we played them is a bit more us. And I think what we saw on Friday night against the Stormers was more us again.
"I think we're building nicely. I think we've definitely got a bit of the mojo back from where we were. I think it was probably the Leicester game (a 43-19 win on 5 April) when we last sort of played like that. I think it's important that we got into this weekend on the back of a good performance last Friday and there's a lot of confidence we can take from it."
Carolan reported that Scotland forwards Matt Fagerson, Jack Dempsey and Zander Fagerson are all progressing well in their recovery from injuries but unlikely to be ready for Saturday. He is hopeful that centre Huw Jones will be fit to return in Dublin after missing the Stormers game with an Achilles issue.
"Huw is on track at the moment to be ready," said Carolan. "Obviously we pulled him last week for precautionary reasons, but he's shaping up really well. We'll just have to see how he progresses through the week."
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