Warriors sure to have support of rivals as they take on Ulster

Dave Rennie finds it amusing that Edinburgh will be cheering for the Glasgow Warriors in Belfast tonight, but the focus of his team is entirely on doing themselves the maximum of good rather than helping their fellow Scots.

If the Warriors beat Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium tonight then Edinburgh will qualify for the Guinness PRO14 play-offs without having to get anything from next week’s clash of the Scottish pro teams in the third leg of the 1872 Cup at BT Murrayfield.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t be often they cheer for us, which I imagine they will,” said the Warriors head coach.

“A couple of Scottish sides in the play-off would be really good for Scottish rugby.

“It has been a positive season all round, Richard and his team have done a good job and they deserve to be in the play-offs, and we look forward to meeting them next week.”

But the Warriors plan to use the next two weeks to gear up for their PRO14 play-off semi-final, and a place in that team – probably the first full-strength side Rennie has picked for months – is genuinely up for grabs for all the squad.

“We’re happy to have a couple of tough away games left against sides who have a lot to play for,” said Rennie.

“There’s no guarantees for anyone, that’s for sure. You’ve got to earn the right to play and we’ve got some guys who’ve put in a massive performance for us throughout the year.

“I think it’s really positive that boys who come back (from international duty) have to fight for the jersey. Who plays in that semi-final game will be decided over the next couple of weeks based on performance.”

As cases in point, Huw Jones gets a recall tonight to partner Alex Dunbar, while Rennie has also reinstated both Finn Russell and Ali Price, and all of those international regulars have a point to prove.

“We’ve got such depth in midfield in our team,” said Rennie.

“Obviously Sam Johnson has been excellent throughout the year, and we’ve left him out this week to give Huw and Alex another crack in midfield.”

DTH van der Merwe, Jonny Gray and Ryan Wilson are all in contention for a place in next week’s team for Murrayfield, but won’t be risked if there are any doubts.

Tonight’s game in Belfast kicks off at 6.05pm and is live on BBC2 Scotland.