Glasgow Warriors to face Leinster in Guinness PRO14 Final

Glasgow Warriors will face Leinster at Celtic Park this Saturday (kick-off 6.30pm) in the Guinness PRO14 Final.

The two sides came through their respective last-four ties to book their place in the competition’s showpiece event – a rematch of the 2014 fixture that marked Glasgow’s first appearance in a major final.

The Warriors recorded a comprehensive 50-20 victory over Ulster at Scotstoun on Friday night, with Tommy Seymour touching down for two of his side’s seven tries in front of a capacity crowd of 10,000.

Defending champions Leinster then secured their spot in the final less than 24 hours later, coming through a hard-fought battle with inter-provincial rivals Munster to seal a 24-9 win at the RDS.

The season so far

After their double-winning campaign in 2017/18, Leo Cullen’s Leinster side has once again proved itself to be one of the best in the business.

The Irishmen reached the Heineken Champions Cup final for the second season in succession, with only Saracens preventing them from lifting the trophy once more.

Domestically, too, Leinster’s strength has shown through. Only one team was able to surpass the men in blue’s total of points and try bonus-points as Cullen’s side finished on top of Conference B, 13 points clear of nearest rivals Ulster.

The team in question? Glasgow Warriors.

With 81 points, Dave Rennie’s men clinched top spot in Conference A in style. The team’s 15 try bonus-points set a new competition record, as the Warriors once again set the competition alight with their brand of free-flowing attacking rugby.

Having set themselves the goal of reaching Celtic Park right back at the start of the season, Glasgow arrive at the final hurdle in imperious form. Since a defeat away to Benetton at the start of 2019, the Warriors have embarked on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Guinness PRO14, scoring four or more tries in all bar one of those nine matches.

That run also includes the solitary meeting between the two sides to date this season, a fixture that will live long in the memory of the Warrior Nation. A dominant defensive display – including a world record 43 tackles from Jonny Gray – set the platform for a first win in Dublin since 2011, as Glasgow ran in five tries to secure a 39-24 victory over their hosts.

Celtic Park

Scotland’s largest football stadium by trade, the 2019 Guinness PRO14 Final will mark the first time that a rugby match has been played at Celtic Park.

Of all Scottish stadia, only BT Murrayfield can lay claim to a larger capacity than Celtic Park’s 60,411; indeed, the Glasgow venue will follow in the footsteps of the home of Scottish Rugby as a final host after Connacht’s victory over Leinster in Edinburgh back in 2016.

Home to Scottish Premiership champions Celtic, the stadium has also played host to a multitude of non-footballing events, including the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.