Leinster’s attack coach, Tyler Bleyendaal, has warned his team to be extra cautious when they face Glasgow Warriors in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final at Aviva Stadium on Friday. Despite having home advantage, Leinster knows Glasgow is capable of delivering strong performances away from home, as demonstrated by their impressive campaign last season.
Leinster secured their spot in the quarter-finals with a dominant victory over Harlequins last weekend. Meanwhile, Glasgow, BKT United Rugby Championship rivals, earned their place by defeating Leicester Tigers at Scotstoun. While Leinster’s home field advantage may seem like an edge, Bleyendaal pointed out that Glasgow’s history of performing well on the road, particularly in last season’s URC when they triumphed in away matches against Munster and the Bulls, makes them a formidable opponent.
“They’ve got their own personality around their team, and they’re performing really well at the moment, both sides of the ball,” said Bleyendaal, speaking to RTÉ Sport. “They’re scoring tries and defending well, so we’re under no illusions it’s going to be a great challenge and we’re going to have to raise the bar with our performance.”
Glasgow’s ability to win on the road, including their journey to last season’s URC title, has added to their confidence, according to Bleyendaal. “Last year they did exceptionally well to win the title and have to go the away route to do it, so I think that will probably galvanise them and give them belief,” he added. “That’s why it’s going to be a cracking match with two good sides.”
Leinster enters the match on the back of a crushing 62-0 victory over Harlequins, where their attack and defence clicked in superb fashion. Despite the commanding win, Bleyendaal acknowledged that Leinster still has areas to improve before facing Glasgow.
“It’s a really pleasing performance, but I think you’re never quite satisfied,” he said. “The players and the management can be critical of themselves first and foremost, which is a great thing. Then we just keep driving our game forward.”
Bleyendaal highlighted specific areas for improvement, including refining their set-piece attack, making better decisions with the ball, and reducing errors. Although Leinster managed to keep a clean sheet, Bleyendaal noted that they were under pressure early in the match due to errors and a lack of competitiveness at times. “We want to keep nailing down our set-piece attack, we want to make good decisions with the ball in hand, try to reduce our errors and then defence,” he explained. “We were under pressure a lot earlier in the match just through a few errors and maybe not competing as much as we’d like.”
With both teams in strong form, Friday’s encounter promises to be a thrilling battle, with both sides aiming for a spot in the Champions Cup semi-finals.
