Steyn calls for Warriors fans to turn Celtic Park into a sea of blue
● Glasgow back wants vocal backing of 60,000 to drive them in Pro14 final
Kyle Steyn hopes the Glasgow support turn Celtic Park into a sea of blue when the Warriors walk out for next week’s Guinness Pro14 Grand Final.
Warriors cruised into the showpiece with Leinster at Parkhead by crushing Ulster 50-20 on Friday night.
Ticket sales have already topped 30,000 but Steyn is hoping the Scotstoun faithful turn out in huge numbers and fill the 60,000-capacity home of Celtic Football Club.
He said: “We’re hoping to get as close as we can to selling out Celtic Park.
“The 10,000 who go to Scots toun are already making the same noise you get from 60,000 so it would bean amazing experience to see it filled with as many Glasgow fans as possible.
“Glasgow is a strong footballing city and we’d love to see it full of rugby supporters.
“I’ ve never been to see a game at Parkhead. I’ve seen it from outside but it will be interesting to see if we get any time there this week. I’m not sure if any of the boys in the squad are Celtic supporters. I know Rory Hughes is a big R angers man so it will be a strange one for him.
“A lot of the boys have spoken about games they’ve seen there and the atmosphere it produces. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage.
“The lure of playing at Celtic Park has been massive all season. We said going into the Edinburgh match in our final league game that if we won, we’d have the possibility of remaining in Glasgow for the rest of the season.
“It means we’ve not had to leave our own base, we’ve slept in our own beds. That could give us the edge we need.”
Glasgow ran in seven tries as they swept DanMc Farland’s team aside. But they are unlikely to get it so easy against reigning Pro14 champions Leinster.
However, South Africaborn centre Steyn, pictured, believes there is still more to come from his side.
He said :“We definitelyhaven’ t peaked too early. There is still a hell of a lot from Friday’s game that we can improve on despite the big scoreline.
“It’s about keeping our feet on the ground and making the most of the learnings. Against Leinster, it’s going to be a hell of a clash so we still have one more peak to climb.”
Scrum-half Ali Price is convinced that the improvement in Warriors’ defensive performance in recent months will be crucial when they face Leinster.
The Norfolk-born 26-year-old, who scored the second of his side’s seven tries against Ulster, pinpoints the emphatic 56-27 defeat by Saracens in the Champions Cup in March as the turning point which marked the point at which the physical side of their game turned.
The Scotland international told the BBC :“It shouldn’t have happened in aquarter-final of Europe but that’s when it happened. It’s a weird thing the mindset, getting everyone focused on the same thing and getting the mentality right.
“The boys up front have been outstanding in the last four or five games. It gives us quick ball and we’ve got the back division to give teams trouble when we get that quick ball.
“It all comes down to getting those hard yards up front and being brutal at rucks. We’ve got one more week and I’m sure the big boys will turn up again.”
Following the f in alwh istle on Friday, Price had made a point of seeking out the departing Stuart Hogg, who leaves for Exeter during the summer, as the full-back completed his final match at Scotstoun.
“I said, ‘We’ve done it mate, we’ve made it to the big one’,” Price said. “We’ve not mentioned much about this being his last game at Scotstoun.
“For him there would be nothing better than to send him on his way by winning the title. We’ve given ourselves that chance.”