'The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back.

That's the real glory. That's the essence of it.'

Gregor Townsend quoted the words of Vince Lombardi when he published his autobiography a few years ago, and the Glasgow Warriors coach's faith in the sentiments expressed by the legendary NFL figure became clear yesterday when he named Peter Horne at fly-half for tonight's RaboDirect PRO12 semi-final play-off against Leinster in Dublin tonight.

Horne has only started one game in the playmaker's position for Glasgow, and it is one he will probably want to forget. Picked at No.10 for the Warriors' Scotstoun match with the PRO12 pacesetters Ulster three months ago, the 23-year-old played with an acceptable level of all-round assurance, but suffered an absolute nightmare with his goalkicking.

Horne missed five shots at goal that night, including a last-minute howler from straight in front of the posts when he sclaffed his attempted conversion of Niko Matawalu's try far wide. In light of which, Warriors fans might be reassured to know that Stuart Hogg, the full-back who clipped over a couple of kicks in last weekend's 20-3 victory against Connacht, will be first-choice kicker at the Royal Dublin Society Showground this evening.

Horne has ousted Ruaridh Jackson from the No.10 berth, a bold strategy for a winner-takes-all occasion, but far from reckless as far as Townsend was concerned.

"I am confident that Peter can do a good job for us at stand-off and I don't see naming him in the starting team as a gamble," said Townsend. "He has also come off the bench a few times or moved to stand-off during matches this season and done really well.

"He was particularly effective off the bench when we beat the Ospreys at home last month and I am sure he will carry on that good form against Leinster. I spoke to Ruaridh before I named the team to tell him he was on the bench and he took it well and he knows he still has a role to play for us. We all know what Ruaridh can do and having him in reserve to come on in such an important game will be vital."

Horne was also a central figure in the last-minute drama that denied Glasgow victory in their last visit to Dublin, two months ago, as it was his pass to Sean Lamont that was adjudged to have gone forward by referee Nigel Owens, a decision that cost the Warriors what would have been a precious victory.

Instead, Townsend's side lost out 22-17 that night, a result that has festered in the minds of the Warriors players ever since. Yet while that result only strengthens Leinster's status as clear favourites to reach the PRO12 final for a third successive year, Glasgow captain Al Kellock believes that his side is far better placed to obstruct their passage than they were when the two sides meat at the same stage last year.

Although it was denied at the time, Kellock now concedes that his Warriors were caught in the Leinster headlights at last year's PRO12 semi-final, when they went down 19-15 to the team that would collect the Heineken Cup for a third time just a week later.

"We have talked about us and the fact that last year we maybe sat back to see how good they were," Kellock explained. "I remember Scott Murray speaking before we played New Zealand a long time ago and he said that is the danger when you play big teams. You sit back for 40 or 50 minutes and then all of a sudden you say we can beat these guys.

"We talked about that last year. Leinster were definitely the best team in Europe at that stage, but I believe we are much, much closer now. The way we have played this season means we have closed that gap. We've got to go in with belief.

"We've got to go in and play our game. We have had games already this season where we have let the opposition dominate us or allowed them to dictate the first 20 or 30 min. It never ends well. We know that already and we know what we've got to do."

Protecting Matawalu must figure high on the Glasgow to-do list. The Fijian scrum-half has been a game-changer for Glasgow all season, but Leinster had clearly done their homework ahead of the most recent game between the sides as they policed him superbly around the fringes.

"It was a tough night for him that night," said Kellock, who hinted that the bitterly cold conditions had also taken an edge off Matawalu's game. " It was a tough night to play his style of rugby. We were on the back foot in the way they kicked and put us in the wrong places on the park.

"But we have talked about that too. We have talked about how we have to protect our nine and 10. They make decisions and everyone else is there to make the decisions easy for them. We will work as hard as we can up front to provide good ball. If Niko gets good ball I'm sure he'll do the business."

Kellock also praised the contributions of Glasgow's other newcomers, suggesting that they have raised the performance bar for the squad as a whole. Only seven of the side that started last year's semi-final for the Warriors will be on the RDS Showground pitch at 7.35 this evening, but Kellock is convinced that the mindset of the club as a whole has undergone a transformation over the past 12 months.

Kellock said: "The signings have been terrific and there are players playing far better than they did last season as well. To a man, we're probably playing better than we did last year. We are playing in a confident fashion, playing good rugby. I love the balance we've got at the moment. It's not forward oriented or backs oriented; there is a real good mix.

"We are in a better place as far as our attack is concerned. We have scored more tries and we are a more dangerous team. We have the ability to score tries from all over the park and our defence is better than it has ever been, statistically speaking.

"We have just moved up a level across the board and that has to do with attack, defence, and the players we have mentioned. Everything has just taken a step forward, a level up."