Glasgow Warriors did just about everything wrong for 75 minutes in the Guinness PRO12 semi final against Ulster, but when the chips were down and it was a question of guts and character, they finally found a way to win the game 16-14 and go though to their second final in consecutive years.

It was a perfect example of never-say-die spirit on steroids. They went behind with a penalty after just 30 seconds and did not take the lead until five minutes from the end when Finn Russell, the fly half, spotted DTH van der Merwe, lurking on the wing and threw a huge miss pass to produce the touchdown that levelled the scores. Russell was then the coolest man in Scotstoun as he landed the conversion to win the game.

"They played very well and we made a few errors but the character and effort that went in and the challenges the players put in made we very proud and made the supporters very proud," said Gregor Townsend, the head coach afterwards. "We had most of the possession in the second half but when they scored a penalty to go five points up I knew it would be tough. The try was fantastic, a lot of relentless phase play against a quality defence and to score in the corner was great.

"I was thinking extra time and did not know how many bodies we would have had, it was a great kick from Finn Russell a match-winning kick. I was so proud."