Ryan promises Warriors fightback
Glasgow Warriors co-captain, Ryan Wilson, admits that Friday night’s 31-15 home defeat to Leinster was a set-back. But insists that it was not a disaster.
After picking up 15 points from a possible 20 in their first four matches of this United Rugby Championship campaign, Warriors went into the Scotstoun clash with high hopes of getting a positive result against the league’s most-successful side.
They also drew confidence from having picked up a 15-12 victory the last time the two sides met in the Rainbow Cup at the tail-end of last season.
But Leinster – who are chasing a fifth consecutive league title – showed that they are a much tougher proposition when vital league points are at stake.
“It is not a disaster, but if you compare it man for man, we should have a good enough squad to beat them,” said Wilson.
“I think that is a good way to look at it because it means this squad won’t accept playing at a level below where we know we should be at.
“If we had played the best we possibly could play, and come up that short, then I would be worried. But I don’t think that is the case.
“We were slow out of the blocks, and let them get on the front foot. If you do that against any good team – and especially a team like Leinster, who are used to winning – then you’re in for a tough night.”
Glasgow’s Scotland squad members will now head off on Autumn Test duty for four weeks, while the rest enjoy some downtime. But it won’t be a lazy month.
“We’ll have a week of rest, then come back in and have three weeks, which will be almost like pre-season. So there will be plenty of work to be done,” said the veteran back-rower.
“We’ve two massive games as soon as the international window is over, against Benetton and Dragons, which we need to win to keep ourselves in the top four.
“The target is to make the play-offs, and one game against Leinster doesn’t change that.”