IN some professions, employees who are about to leave can become demob happy in their last few weeks, putting in conspicuously less effort as they lose interest in the task at hand. At Glasgow Warriors, on the other hand, there is every sign that those players due to leave this summer will train and play with greater intensity than ever before as they gear up for the PRO12 play-offs.

That, at least, was the evidence on Friday night, when a Warriors side shorn of some of its biggest names ripped the guts out of Zebre. Of the ten tries in the 70-10 triumph, no fewer than seven were scored by men who will be on their way at the end of the month - Leone Nakarawa, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Glenn Bryce and Duncan Weir. For good measure, Weir, who is moving to Edinburgh along with Bryce, converted all ten.

It may be only natural for people to prepare for an imminent move by beginning to daydream about their new destination, but the environment at Scotstoun will prevent any of the players from falling prey to such a habit at this crucial stage of the season, according to Al Kellock. At this time last season Kellock was in a similar position to Nakarawa and the others who are about to bid farewell to the club; indeed, if anything his situation might easily have let him cut himself a bit more slack, as he knew he would retire when the campaign was at an end.

In those circumstances it could have been easy for a less committed individual to coast a little in training. Instead, the former captain recalls that every single member of the squad put in more effort, not less, as the club drew nearer and nearer to its first PRO12 title. And he is certain that the same will be the case this time round as the team prepare for their last game of the regular season, in Connacht on Saturday - a match that will determine whether they have a home semi-final in the play-offs.

“What I have always found when guys are leaving is that there is a legacy involved,” Kellock said yesterday. “People want to remember their last three or four weeks for the best of reasons, so there’s never a lack of focus - if anything it’s the opposite.

“The players moving on want to drive things forward. They know it’s their last opportunity. That was the approach that me and Dougie Hall [the hooker who also retired at the end of last season] took last year.”

Nakarawa, who had never signed a professional contract before joining Glasgow three years ago, is moving on to bigger things at Champions Cup finalists Racing 92. Naiyaravoro is returning to Australia, having never really settled in Scotland.

So might people in such positions succumb to the urge to protect themselves just a little in training, conscious that a more lucrative future awaits?

And what about players such as Bryce and his brother Kevin, who is also moving to Edinburgh? Could they have begun to detach themselves a little, even unconsciously? Not at all, according to Kellock, who now works for Scottish Rugby in a commercial and ambassadorial role.

“There’s not a chance that anybody will think about taking things easy lest they get an injury. Hundred per cent not.

“There’s such a high level of competition for places in the squad that the players couldn’t be more motivated - and that means in training and in the gym as well as in games. No matter where you’re moving on to, or why you’re leaving, you still have that legacy to think about.”

Although his selection for last Friday was designed primarily to give some players a rest before the tougher challenges to come, Gregor Townsend, the head coach, admitted that some of his so-called second string had played so well that they could now come into contention for the business end of the season. Part of the reason for that is the strength and conditioning programme that again has the whole squad peaking at the right time, but the attitude of each individual also has to be spot on if he is to hit his best form so late in a long and gruelling season.

No-one typified that commitment more against Zebre than Bryce, the full-back who was standing in for Stuart Hogg. “A lot of Glasgow folk were saying what a great signing Edinburgh have got in Glenn,” Kellock said. “He has worked incredibly hard on his rugby ability and in training. And he’s got a lot more to come.”

Glasgow began preparations some time ago for life after Nakarawa and co, and have had preliminary discussions with another Fijian lock, Api Ratuniyarawa of Agen. It is understood, however, that a deal is not imminent. Meanwhile, of course, no-one at Scotstoun is in any rush to see the back of Nakarawa, whose hat-trick against Zebre demonstrated once more just how much he loves playing the Warriors’ brand of attacking rugby.