On moving to Scotland, Dave Rennie may have sought to adapt the formula which brought him extraordinary results in his native New Zealand, but as he looks to add some fizz he gave every impression yesterday of being keen to introduce at least one key ingredient.

Fifty time All Black Aaron Cruden’s name has been linked with a move to Scotstoun for several months having enjoyed the greatest days of his career while working with Rennie at the Chiefs, where they won two Super Rugby titles in 2012 and ’13 and the Warriors head coach seemed far from worried about the prospect of fuelling speculation yesterday.

“We are not in a position to talk about any contracts until they are signed. There are a few announcements to be made so we will say when everything is sorted,” he said. “I’ve worked a lot with Aaron in the past. He’s a good man and a hell of a player. I hear there’s a bit of speculation out there.”

Rennie brought Warriors captain Callum Gibbins with him from New Zealand, but has largely bought into Scottish rugby’s need to develop players for the international team within the self-inflicted limit of having only two teams and he maintained that he was not looking for high profile signings merely to assuage the concerns of supporters following the departures of Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg in successive seasons.

“I’m not too fussed about bringing big names in. What we’re looking for is quality,” he said. “Sometimes they are rough diamonds and sometimes we’re trying to bring guys through from a Scottish perspective. We’re looking for the right fit for us, whether they are a big name or not. We are pretty advanced in our contracting. We’re going to have a good side. I think it will be a bit stronger than we’ve got now, which is exciting.”

However, perhaps tellingly he cited that previous experience when he took over the Chiefs in 2012, as an example of his willingness to shake things up as he sees necessary.

“I am more than happy to bring guys in,” said Rennie. “When I went to the Chiefs we made a lot of changes and brought in a lot of players, young players from all over the country. They ended up being important players for us. We have a responsibility to identify Scottish talent (but) we need to fill some holes in the areas with guys who can’t play for Scotland.”

This season has demonstrated why Glasgow need those key figures after they came up short on the European stage once again, but they can enhance their chances of finishing it with domestic silverware if they can defeat last year’s double winners Leinster on their own patch tonight.

Victory could be enough to ensure they do not have to return to Dublin in the semi-finals since, ahead of next week’s Champions Cup semi-final, their Conference rivals Munster are sending a weakened team to Treviso and if results fall the right way Glasgow will be uncatchable at the top of the table.

Leinster, also preparing for a Champions Cup semi, have meanwhile left several key men on the bench. However, as he picked his strongest available side while recalling Scotland centre Huw Jones to the bench, Rennie noted that as much as he might hope tonight’s hosts might be distracted, they are setting the standards he is aspiring to bringing to Glasgow and so are likely to be as formidable as ever on their home patch where the Warriors have not won in eight years.

“It’s been a phenomenal year (for Leinster) with regard to the footy they have put out,” he said. “They haven’t used a lot of their top dogs in a number of games and they have got the job done. They have amazing depth so we expect a tough one.”

“I hope (Europe) affects them. They are talking really positively and have some guys coming back who are important to them, who have not played much footy recently, so it is a big game for them.

“We are not going to get sucked into any of that. We have to be at our best and we want to build into the play-offs rather than stuttering in like we did last year.”

“They are a different creature to us perhaps. We were miles in front and just didn’t do a good enough job when it counted. These guys are still doing really well in Europe and doing well in this comp. You’ve got to respect that, so we’re not thinking that because they have some of the big boys on the bench it’s going to be easier. That would be a mistake.”

Having drawn that harsh comparison between his team’s efforts last year and the way Leinster have dealt with securing their Pro14 play-off place early, he suggested that Glasgow have learned from that experience.

“We have a better mindset, a better understanding of what is required,” said Rennie.

“There is a little bit more edge about us and I think there’s a little bit more consistency about us, but they’re a quality club who won our comp and Europe last year and they’re getting lots of things right and have good depth. As I said they have a lot of top quality players who front well for them and that’s where we’ve got to get to.”