Why did Warriors look so rusty?
glasgow
boss Dave Rennie is ready to splash the cash to turn his nearlymen into trophy winners. The coach issued his pledge to gutted fans in the wake of Friday’s Pro14 semi-final crash at the hands of the champion Scarlets. Rennie declared: “We do have a lot more depth in our squad than we used to have.
“But eight or nine guys are leaving – and we will be replacing seven of them.
“It is pretty clear what we are trying to do. We need to be more dynamic and the recruits will reflect that.
“It is likely that we will bring in seven new players before the start of next season. We have actually completed most of the signings, but we have still to reveal details.”
Several of the new boys will be coming from overseas as Rennie bids to minimise the effect of so many Warriors being absent for chunks of the season on Scotland duty. He added: “Obviously during the international windows we have been losing heaps of guys. And we have had to transition them back into our set up.” Meanwhile, Rennie explained the last-minute withdrawal of Scotland hero Stuart Hogg from the Glasgow line-up against the Welsh outfit.
He said: “Hoggy was hit by some sort of food poisoning.
“He started being ill just after lunch and was given an injection.
“He went out and tried to run before the kick-off, but he just didn’t have anything in the tank.”
The coach confirmed his troops will take a full month off before returning for pre-season training.
Rennie stated: “They have been working hard for 50 weeks, so it is important they clear the head and come back excited about next campaign.”
LEINSTER 16 MUNSTER 15
Leinster still have a domestic and European double in their sights after yesterday’s victory over Munster in a pulsating Guinness PRO14 semi-final at the RDS.
Gerbrandt Grobler’s late try set up a nerve-jangling final minute, but the Champions Cup winners prevailed to set up a rematch with Scarlets in next Saturday’s final at the Aviva Stadium.
A seventh-minute try from Jack Conan was the difference between the sides at half-time, Leinster establishing a 10-3 lead with JJ Hanrahan and Ross Byrne exchanging penalties in front of an 18,930-strong crowd.
A momentum-shifting try from Keith Earls, two minutes into the second half, took the heat out of Jean Kleyn’s sin-binning, only for Byrne’s second penalty and a 76th-minute penalty from Joey Carbery to prove just enough for the hosts in the end.