Glasgow Warriors coach praises Firhill crowd

Glasgow Warriors assistant coach Shade Munro has praised the Firhill crowd after his side were beaten by defending Heineken Cup champion Leinster at the weekend.

6479 people – the highest ever gate in Glasgow in the European competition – watched as the Warriors were beaten 16-23 by the Irish team. The result means Leinster have qualified for the next stage of the tournament, with the Warriors having to scrap it out for a place in the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Munro told STV: “It was great to see so many people at the game. If they are still coming along at this stage of the competition, it means we still have a chance to do well, which is good. The fan base of the Warriors has grown throughout the season and, while it may be a cliché to say so, they are becoming the 16th man.

“They are a very vocal crowd. I don’t think there is a more vocal crowd in the RaboDirect PRO 12. We enjoy a fantastic support and hopefully we will get it once more for the match against Bath.”

The Warriors still have a chance to qualify for the Amlin Cup, but will have to beat Bath in their remaining Heineken Cup game this weekend and hope other results go their way.

Out of the six runners up in the Heineken Cup groups, the two with the highest points will qualify for the quarter finals of that competition along with the six group winners.

Three out of the remaining four runners up in the Heineken Cup groups will qualify for the quarter finals of the Amlin Cup. Glasgow Warriors currently have the fewest points of all the second placed teams, so have work to do.

Munro added: “We haven’t managed to get through to the next stage of the Heineken Cup, but it is not through lack of trying. When you play a team like Lenister, you don’t want to just pat yourself on the back and say ‘good effort’. What we are trying to do here is make the players realise that we never want to be second best. We want to look at what we can improve upon.”

Now, the Warriors’ focus turns to the match against Bath away at the Recreation Ground. Recently, the Glasgow side have played in a several high pressure games including the 1872 Cup double header against Edinburgh and the crunch match against Leinster.

Munro and head coach Sean Lineen will have to ask their players for another big effort for this week’s match at Saturday lunchtime.

He added: “It is usually quite tough to keep players at this level mentally, but with this group it doesn’t seem to be the case. Everyone has bought into the idea that we are a squad. We can rest players and know the replacements will step up to the mark.”