Leinster face Glasgow in the RaboDirect Pro12 final, this Saturday in the RDS.
Here’s everything you need to know – well, the top five at least – about the final showdown.
1. This is Glasgow’s first time in the final. Since the competition’s inception in 2001 – when it was known as the Celtic League – this is the only time that Glasgow have made it, though they didn’t enter the competition until the 2005/06 season.
Glasgow are actually the second Scottish side to reach the final. Edinburgh were beaten by Munster in the 2009 final.
Glasgow have had a brilliant Pro12 tournament so far this year. They’ve come second in the table, having won 18 games out of 22. They also have a great record against Irish sides so far in this season’s tournament, having beaten both Connacht and Ulster twice (home-and-away) and Munster twice, once in the pool stages and once in the semi-final. Glasgow also beat Leinster at home, but lost in the RDS. Both were very close games.
2. This is Leinster’s eighth time in the final. Including the Celtic League, Leinster actually have the record for number of appearances in the final, and this is their fourth final appearance in a row.
Leinster have won three titles, the first in 2001 when they beat Munster. They won it again in 2008, beating Cardiff, and last year against Ulster. Leinster have a chance of equalling Ospreys’ record four wins.
Leinster have been beaten in the final twice by Ospreys (2010 and 2012), once by Ulster (2006) and once by Munster (2010).
3. Glasgow have just won the Melrose 7s for the first time in the competition’s history. The Melrose 7s is the oldest 7s competition in the world, having first appeared in 1883.
Glasgow have a great squad of players and several have being picked to represent Scotland in the Commonwealth Games, which take place this summer in the Scottish city. Glasgow Warriors make up for half of the Scotland 7s squad.
4. The Rabo final will be the last game of Leinster players Brian O’Driscoll and Leo Cullen. The two legends have contributed so much to Leinster, and Irish rugby over the years and have announced that they will hang up their boots for the final time at the end of this season.
Brian O’Driscoll has been with Leinster since he started playing, in 1999. Since then, O’Driscoll has accumulated over 180 caps for the club and scored over 310 points. O’Driscoll has been a stalwart for the club throughout his entire career, despite the number of lucrative offers he’s received from overseas and has played a huge part in Leinster’s recent golden era.
O’Driscoll’s fellow Blackrock College Alumni, Cullen, started playing with Leinster in 1998. He joined Leicester Tigers for a short stint in 2005, but returned in 2007 to lead Leinster to their golden era. Cullen is the only player to have captained a club to three Heineken Cup titles (2009, 2011 and 2012).
While he has not had such an illustrious career as O’Driscoll, he has still played a huge part in turning the club into a force on the world stage and will be a hard act to follow.
5. Glasgow have a terrific squad. Ryan Grant, Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg were a part of the 2013 British and Irish Lions squad that beat Australia last summer. Scrum-half Chris Cusiter toured with the Lions to New Zealand in 2005.
Glasgow also have players of the calibre of Alex Dunbar, Ruaridh Jackson, Sean Lamont, Duncan Weir and Fraser Brown, all of whom have competed for Scotland. Glasgow have an international flavour as well, with players like Josh Strauss (South Africa), D.T.H. van der Merwe (Canada) and several players from Fiji, among others.
Glasgow will give Leinster a very tough game in the final and only the fact of Cullen and O’Driscoll’s swansong in their home stadium will give Leinster the advantage. Glasgow would like nothing more than to deny those players a perfect send-off.
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