FOR those who play press conference bingo, one phrase that is likely to have you shouting “house” this week – because it is everyone’s banker – in the lead-up to next weekend’s Heineken Champions Cup, is that you will be confronted by the biggest and best players and teams around in this competition.

Cliched, perhaps, but in the case of Glasgow Warriors, it is nothing more than stating fact as they play host to Saracens at Scotstoun.

Saracens are as good as it gets. Since 2010, they have landed the English Premiership title four times and been runners-up twice while, in Europe, they have not failed to reach the last eight in the last seven seasons, reaching three finals and winning back-to-back European Cups in 2016 and 2017. The latter was the same season they had seven players on the Lions tour to New Zealand.

Owen Farrell, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, George Kruis, Billy Vunipola, Maro Itoje, Schalk Burger, Richard Wigglesworth, our own Sean Maitland are just some of the names that catch the eye in an all-star squad.

Warriors full-back Ruaridh Jackson is all too aware of the task facing him and his team-mates next Sunday, having spent time in the English top flight with both Wasps and Harlequins.

“I faced them a few times when I was down there,” he said. “You know what you are going to get. They’ve been on the top of their game for the last wee while. They are a big physical team that comes with a lot of aggression and a smart kicking game.”

Machine-like is a prefix easily attached to all things Sarries. Seldom do they drop a cylinder or not go through all the gears. Jackson liked the big engine analogies.

“They are a well-oiled machine,” he said, adding, “and they always run on full throttle.”

Glasgow found that out in April last year, when their European ambitions were abruptly halted in the last eight of the Champions Cup as a turbo-charged Saracens won 38-13 on their way to the top prize.

Jackson, though, believes it won’t all be about the English superpower next Sunday.

“We are under no illusions about how tough it’s going to be but we have some firepower ourselves. Our forwards have really stepped it up this year and while we still have a young pack, they have another season under their belts from last year. Hopefully we’ll take it to them and, if we get the chances, the backs can score.

“It’ll be tough. But in the Champions Cup that applies to every game these days.”

Tough was how Warriors found it on Friday evening against visitors Zebre, although they did eventually finish 36-8 winners.

From that performance, Jackson conceded that Saracens may not be as slow to pick up on Glasgow’s slackness as the Italians were.

“It took a while to get going. But we were probably a bit too careless with the ball in the first half and gave them a lot of possession. We were just being wasteful,” was Jackson’s honest assessment.

However, the fixes made at the turnaround meant Dave Rennie’s side were transformed from a team that might have settled for a one-point win, eventually taking a five-try bonus point victory, making good on a yellow card for Zebre flanker Johan Meyer.

“It always helps, but the forwards turned the screw in the scrum. And we’ve always got the ability to score some pretty good tries, when we click,” said Jackson, an obvious reference to an outstanding fifth try, when some wonderful slight of hand from Adam Hastings released Niko Matawalu, with Lee Jones sending Pete Horne in for a well-worked touchdown.

“It’s all about picking our time,” concluded Jackson. “I think we forced things in the first half. We maybe have to be a bit more wise when we try to score those worldies.”