Matt O'Connor, the Leinster coach, last night warned his PRO12 champions to gear up for a fierce backlash from Glasgow Warriors,
Matt O'Connor, the Leinster coach, last night warned his PRO12 champions to gear up for a fierce backlash from Glasgow Warriors,
The Dubliners launch their title defence against Glasgow on Saturday and the visiting coach is sure his men are in for a battle royal at Scotstoun.
O'Connor's side claimed the crown by collecting their second straight PRO12 title with a comfortable 34-12 win over Gregor Townsend's men in the final three months ago.
"Glasgow will have been hurting all summer," said Australian O'Connor.
"They were pretty disappointed with their performance back in May at the RDS and the whole scenario makes us very, very clear about what we will be presented with.
"The bottom line is that we are going to have to be incredibly physical and incredibly accurate to get the result we want."
While Leinster have bid farewell to old warhorses Brian O'Driscoll and Leo Cullen, they have wasted no time in signing up top-class recruits. And O'Connor has high hopes that Australians Ben Te'o and Kane Douglas will make a quick impact.
Douglas has switched from the NSW Waratahs in Australia to fill O'Driscoll's No.13 berth while Te'o has been lured to Ireland from the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league side.
"They're outstanding athletes," added O'Connor. "They'll be invaluable to us."
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