GLASGOW Warriors go into their November break, when Test rugby takes over the agenda, with a perfect start to the Guinness PRO14 but Dave Rennie, the head coach, believes the best is yet to come.
In contrast with their failures in the European Champions Cup, the side are only one match short of their nine-match record winning run in the league. Add in the scoring bonuses and they have taken 38 points from a possible 40.
“We are making shifts,” Rennie said. “I have talked a lot about how fit we are, that is important. We want to be really deliberate, go through the middle, force the opposition to commit numbers to defence. We showed that better against Leinster than in the European games.
“We are getting a harder edge about ourselves in terms of the clean-out and quick ball. From a turnover point of view, that has been a real strength. It is a little bit of scraps but it is against a disorganised defence.
“I know we can be a lot better in a lot of areas. I am still waiting for that high quality, 80-minute performance.”
Rennie was speaking after his side had beaten Leinster 31-21, including a scoring bonus point, but was unhappy the team had not been able to capitalise on a storming first half, which produced four tries in 23 minutes, with a similarly ruthless showing after the break.
While the possession and territory statistics were just about even in the first half, with Glasgow showing the killer touch in sight of the try line, they had a much tougher time in the second with Leinster claiming almost 80 per cent of both, forcing the Scots to rely on their defence.
“The players have a really positive mindset and want to play. I want that too but we have to mix that in with the ability to engage defenders, smart kicking options. We have a long way to go but I’m happy with the start, eight from eight,” Rennie added.
On the field, the players were equally elated with their first half and just as frustrated with the second.
“Apart from some of the defence it [the first half] was pretty much everything we were asking for during the week,” said flanker Rob Harley, who took over as captain late in the game. “Some of the lines we were running, Niko Matawalu especially, meant we were making a lot of line breaks, getting quick ball and causing them a lot of problems. It was a perfect first half.
“All credit to Leinster, who are a really good side, they came back at us. They found answers to what we did and we were less accurate so it turned the emphasis on to defence. We had to defend for most of the second half but we did enough to hold on. When they got close to our line, we fronted up and made sure they did not get over it.”
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