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Les Ecossais étaient à Paris vendredi dernier pendant les attentats. Le match face au Racing 92 reporté
Northampton Saints hope to avoid the same fate in Scotland that has befallen so many of their compatriots.
Glasgow has proved a graveyard for plenty of English ambitions in the European Rugby Champions Cup in recent times.
The Warriors have beaten opponents from the other side of Hadrian’s Wall for the past six years in a row, including Saints.
Gloucester, Wasps, Bath, twice, and Exeter have all fallen to defeats that cost them a place in the quarter-finals.
But Saints coach Jim Mallinder insists there is just as much pressure on hosts Glasgow at Scotstoun.
He said: “Home games bring a lot of pressure because if you lose, you have to pick up a couple of wins away, so Glasgow will be very determined.
“They are a class team, playing with confidence and we’ve got a good idea how they will approach this game.
“They will try to attack us from all over the field, will look to off-load as much as they can and use their aggressive defence.”
Saints have won four of their six games on the road in Europe.
And Ken Pisi and Alex Waller scored tries as they held out for a narrow 15-11 win over Scarlets in round one last week.
Earlier in the day, Glasgow’s opening game against Racing-Metro in Paris was postponed last week but player of the month Mike Blair insists the Warriors are focused.
Blair said: “It was a distressing weekend for a lot of people but we were outside the city and, from a rugby point of view, we have been able to shift our focus.
“Northampton try to bully and outmuscle teams and that seems to be the way they are going to approach the game.
“The most successful half I have had against them was for Edinburgh when we were able to play with tempo and move their big forwards around. We have guys at the club to do that.”
Match Facts
- Leinster Rugby have won six of their seven matches against Bath Rugby, including an 18-15 victory in the 2014/15 quarter finals.
- Bath Rugby have never won a match on home soil against Leinster Rugby in the Champions Cup, their only win against the province coming on the road.
- Bath have only won two of their 13 matches against Irish clubs in the competition with the last of those victories occurring in 2005.
- Leinster have lost only three of their last 17 matches against English opponents in the Champions Cup (W12, D2), however one of those defeats came just last weekend against Wasps.
Northampton remporte une précieuse victoire à l'extérieur
Northampton Saints crushed the Glasgow Warriors pack to earn a 26-15 Champions Cup triumph at Scotstoun.
George Pisi crossed to kick-off a first-half blitz, before Ah See Tuala scored a brace of tries to put Jim Mallinder’s side in command of pool three. Peter Horne and Josh Strauss gave the hosts hope, but the damage had been done by Northampton’s ruthless forward performance.
The Saints won the ball back after Finn Russell had kicked Glasgow into the lead and Steven Myler sent the ball high into the Glasgow night-sky. The hosts failed to deal with the hanging kick and Pisi pounced to touchdown, with Myler adding the conversion for a 7-3 lead.
It got worse for the Warriors when their scrum was decimated to allow Myler another three-points, before the patience of referee Pascal Gauzere ran-out. Ryan Grant was caught collapsing another set-piece and was shown yellow, with the Saints fly-half once again on-target to stretch their advantage to 10 points.
The dream start continued moments later after Luther Burrell went on the crash-ball, it was recycled and shipped out to Tuala on the right wing, and the Samoan stepper danced past Stuart Hogg to score.
But a stroke of good fortune gave the Warriors a lifeline, Russell smacked the post with a penalty and Northampton fumbled the ball behind the dead-ball line. And Horne crashed through from the resulting scrum for to rein in the Saints first-half advantage to 18-10.
Myler landed a penalty to complete the first-half blitz, and it was to get even better after the break.
Ben Foden broke clear from full-back to setup another attack, before he kicked through for Tuala to score his second try and Northampton’s third. Strauss crossed late-on after Burrell saw yellow, but it was too little, too late.
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