Dublin is not a bad place to wind down after a busy period, but Glasgow coach Gregor Townsend hopes his Scotland Test players are not in any mood to take things that easy in their Guinness PRO12 clash with Leinster in the RDS Arena tonight as they put the disappointment of a Six Nations whitewash behind them.

As happened last year, when the Warriors produced a blistering PRO12 spring run that saw them collect nine wins on the trot, it seems that an early exit from Europe could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the team. While Townsend can afford to send out his big guns in the RDS this evening, his Leinster counterpart Matt O'Connor has been obliged to rest a number of his ahead of their Champions Cup quarter-final cash with Bath next weekend.

Yet Townsend will be acutely aware that last season's winning streak was bookended by two losses to Leinster in the ground where they will play again tonight. In the regular season game in early March, the Warriors were beaten 28-25 by the Dublin outfit, then went down 34-12 in the PRO12's grand final on the last day of May.

That match marked the coming-of-age of Finn Russell, whose meteoric ascent then saw him make his Test debut for Scotland in Houston a week later. However, Russell's involvement in tonight's game was thrown into doubt yesterday afternoon when he picked up an ankle injury during the Warriors' final training session at Scotstoun. "He went over on the ankle," said Townsend. "We're hopeful he'll be alright for tomorrow."

If Russell is forced to withdraw then the likeliest course of action would be for Peter Horne to move across from inside-centre to take the playmaker role, with Richie Vernon promoted from the bench to start in the centre. According to Townsend's calculations, a total of 52 players have been called into action by the Warriors this season, a startling figure but a reflection both of the demands put on Glasgow players by national selections and the brutal attrition rate of the modern game

Glasgow go into the game as PRO12 leaders, eight points ahead of fifth placed Leinster. That scenario, in tandem with the relative strengths of the two sides' selections, suggests that the Warriors should be considered slight favourites, but Townsend was taking nothing for granted ahead of the trip to a ground where there silverware aspirations have been demolished in each of the past two seasons and where the Warriors have not won since 2011.

Of course, many of the Glasgow players are fresh - almost certainly not the word - from their Scotland involvement. Traditionally, international players can take a couple of games to get back into a club groove, but Townsend suggested that the setbacks they have suffered on national duty over the past few weeks may actually accelerate that process.

"They want to get back out and play" said the coach of those players. "If you have a defeat you want to get out and play the next day. There's a long gap before the next Scotland game, so they have an opportunity at the club.

"And they'll think about games. They're now playing a lot of the Irish guys again, playing the champions, and it's a massive game for us at the RDS. There's no better game to come back to play. We know how important this game is for both clubs; we'd be in a great position if we were to win, Leinster would be right back in the mix if they win."

With Euan Murray likely to be out for another couple of weeks due to the facial injury he suffered against Ireland, and with Rossouw de Klerk also absent after undergoing a minor groin operation, Townsend has opted for the 19-year-old Zander Fagerson ahead of the hugely experienced Mike Cusack at tighthead prop. Although the RDS surroundings are likely to be intimidating, Townsend explained that Fagerson's recent performances for the Scotland under-20 side had convinced him he was ready for the step up.

"I'm really excited about him playing," said Townsend of the teenage tighthead. "What he gives around the pitch is exceptional. He is a massive ball carrier, very aggressive and an effective defender. He hits rucks and his strength and maturity at scrum time is coming through now. With the under-20s, usually the scrum is where they struggle, but his year they had parity and were dominating, which shows how well Zander played.

"Props do tend to mature late, come through and learn scrummaging. He's one of a few players who have come through with a real mental attitude of wanting to work hard and improve. Adam Ashe and Jonny Gray a year or two before him were the same - not phased about the next

Level. Tthey really want to play the next level and take the game to the opposition, so it is a fantastic game for him to taste that next level."

After tonight's game, Glasgow will have four more matches in which to secure enough points to clinch the PRO12 play-off place they have secured in each of the past three seasons. The Six Nations has been a costly experience, with Sean Lamont and Alex Dunbar suffering season-ending injuries, but Townsend had better news to deliver on others in the rehab ward, as Sean Maitland, Gordon Reid, Jon Welsh and Duncan Weir are all expected to be in contention for places in their next PRO12 game, at home to Cardiff Blues in two weeks' time.

Leinster: Z Kirchner; F McFadden, B Te'o, I Madigan, D Kearney; J Gopperth, E Reddan; M Bent, R Strauss, M Moore, T Denton, M McCarthy, J Murphy, S Jennings (captain), J Conan. S Cronin, C Healy, T Furlong, B Marshall, D Ryan, I Boss, G D'Arcy, L Fitzgerald.

Glasgow: S Hogg; T Seymour, M Bennett, P Horne, DTH Van der Merwe; F Russell, N Matawalu; A Allan, F Brown, Z Fagerson, T Swinson, A Kellock (captain), R Harley, C Fusaro, J Strauss. Subs: P MacArthur, J Yanuyanutawa, M Cusack, J Gray, A Ashe, H Pyrgos, C Braid, R Vernon.