Battle of the Kiwi coaches a Scotstoun highlight

IT’S the crucial head-to-head you won’t see on the pitch tomorrow night but, make no mistake, the battle between Dave Rennie and opposite number Wayne Pivac will be one to savour at Scotstoun.

In terms of style, both head coaches subscribe to the high-tempo, off-loading game so beloved in their native New Zealand. They like to play expansive, thrilling rugby — and both men have the weapons in their current playing squads to do so.

Whether they both unleash hell in the play-off semi-final remains to be seen, of course. No matter how awe-inspiring a sight it would be.

Rennie, for one, has already suggested he is preaching caution to this team. No unnecessary risks, at least to begin with.

What he is trying to do is ensure his side are focused.

Glasgow need to be in the right frame of mind to cope with the pressure that comes from playing a home semi-final in front of a capacity 10,000 crowd.

It would be easy to get carried away, to allow the adrenaline to take over, as a raucous support gets into full swing.

But it’s here that Rennie’s experience comes to the fore.

he has been in these positions before — and he has succeeded.

Back in 2012, All Black World Cup legends Aaron Cruden and Sonny Bill Williams were part of his Chiefs team that triumphed in a Super Rugby semi-final victory over the Crusaders and then went on to win the final against the Sharks.

The following year, Rennie led the Chiefs to back-to-back titles with a semi-final victory over Crusaders followed by a defeat of the Brumbies in the final.

Glasgow will need that experience, that sense of calm he can bring. Because, while there’s no doubting the talent as his disposal, there are some in the Warriors squad who have, at times, allowed the occasion to become all-consuming — to the detriment of their performances. To that end, Rennie has been hard at work in the past few weeks, taking the pressure off his players, helping them relax. Golf outings, paintballing and team meals have all been utilised to ensure the mood in the camp is correct. ‘As coaches, we can’t all start tensing up at such a big moment as the boys will pick up on that,’ admitted Rennie (pictured). And it’s true. Another strand to tomorrow night’s intrigue is that both Pivac and Rennie have been touted as potential successors to Wales head coach Warren Gatland. Given Pivac’s success with Scarlets, he is in the box seat. While Warriors fans will hope it stays that way, a little bump in the road at Scotstoun would not go amiss.