This Is The Biggest Rugby Match Ever In Football City

GLASGOW, as anyone with even a passing knowledge of sport will tell you, is a football city – arguably the greatest football city in the world. Tonight, 10,000 rugby fans will cram into Scotstoun to watch the Guinness PRO14 semi-final between Glasgow Warriors and Ulster; and, while that sell-out attendance is a mere seven per cent of the city's all-time crowd for a football match, it represents a massive step forward in Warriors' success in selling the oval ball game in the dear green place.

Stuart Hogg - makes his final Scotstoun appearance for Glasgow tonight

From unlikely beginnings at Hughenden, via the sojourn at Firhill, to the recent successes both in terms of on-field feats and commercially off it, Warriors has grown to become a major player in the city's sporting story. Sure, they are a long way off the crowds and interest generated by the Old Firm, but, Warriors is the single, inclusive successful sports club which represents the whole city – and tonight, Glasgow, indeed Scotland, is right behind them.

They have been here before, of course. In 2015 the same two sides met, at the same stage, in what was then the PRO12 – with Glasgow winning, prior to going on and registering their solitary outright success in this multi-national tournament.

The prize is even bigger tonight. Well, the league is bigger, 14 rather than 12 teams having started-out back in August, while the entire league now encompasses five rather than four nations, since the two South African sides came on-board.

Also, while the 2015 final was in Belfast, the prize for Glasgow this time is (sort of) home advantage, with the final scheduled for Celtic Park, in eight days' time. The thought of a major final, in Glasgow, without the Glasgow side there – no, that's unthinkable.

Glasgow, at their scintillating best, are the most-entertaining and explosive side in the entire PRO14, they can, and often do, score from anywhere. “Coast-to-coast tries,” the scoring move ignited from under the shadow of their own posts has become something of a Glasgow trade mark. We hope for at least one such score tonight, but, given the history of matches between these two sides, we are more-likely to see an arm wrestle, with the side which defends better emerging victorious.

Under Kenny Murray, their Defence Coach, Glasgow have become very good at quelling opposition ambition. Tonight, they will need to be resolute and determined in that area, before unleashing their sterling attacking talents.

Coach Dave Rennie has named a very strong XV, so strong in fact, co-captain Ryan Wilson can only make the bench in a squad which reads – in 1-23 order:

Jamie Bhatti, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Jonny Gray, Rob Harley, Callum Gibbins (Captain), Matt Fagerson; Ali Price, Adam Hastings, DTH van der Merwe, Sam Johnson, Kyle Steyn, Tommy Seymour, Stuart Hogg, Replacements: Grant Stewart, Oli Kebble, D’Arcy Rae, Ryan Wilson, Tom Gordon, George Horne, Pete Horne, Huw Jones.

That squad has accumulated 1703 Glasgow appearances, 7 have pulled-on a Glasgow shirt more than 100 times, 17 0f the 23 are full internationalists, while there are 8 survivors from the title-winning 2015 squad.

That 2015 triumph saw Glasgow beat Ulster, at Scotstoun, at the same semi-final stage, so, everyone in the Warrior Nation will be hoping for a repeat tonight. But, they should remember, that semi-final, four years ago, was a tense, close-run thing, with Glasgow scraping through 16-14 on the back of a huge defensive effort. The same may well be needed tonight.

Ulster have their own particular reason for wanting to reverse that 2015 outcome. Whether tonight, or next Saturday, captain Rory Best will pull-on his province's white shirt for the last time in Glasgow. The influential hooker and captain has already said, he will hang-up his boots after this year's Rugby World Cup – so, either tonight or, if his side wins, next Saturday's match will be his last for the province he has represented on 220 occasions. Team mate Darren Cave is also bowing-out when Ulster lose interest in this year's PRO14 title race after 228 Ulster appearances.

Rory Best, a Glasgow win will make tonight his final Ulster appearance

With his 220 Ulster caps, 116 appearances, for Ireland two British and Irish Lions tours behind him, and an OBE for services to Rugby Union, the Ulster and Irish captain has had his moments, but, he wants to add to his solitary league triumph, back in 2006, before he finally hangs-up his distinctive scrum cap and boots. And, the rest of the squad are determined to send him off into retirement as a winner.

The Ulster squad for tonight, again in 1-23 order, is:

E O’Sullivan, R Best (captain), R Kane, I Henderson, K Treadwell, N Timoney, J Murphy, M Coetzee; J Cooney, B Burns; L Ludik, S McCloskey, L Marshall, R Baloucoune, J Stockdale. Replacements: R Herring, A Warwick, T O’Toole, A O’Connor, S Reidy, D Shanahan, M Lowry, D Cave.

There will be a second Irish team on the park tonight, with the league management having somewhat controversially scheduled an all_Irish officiating team for the game. John Lacey, in what will probably be his final game, will be on the whistle, with George Clancy, who refereed the 2015 semi-final and Andrew Brace on flag duty, and Ollie Hedges as TMO.

Messrs Lacey and Clancy are not, and never have been, fans' favourites at Scotstoun, but, to return to our football analogies – as Jock Stein used to stress to his Celtic and Scotland teams: “There is one sure way to take a referee out of the equation – do not give him the chance to make a potentially contentious decision.”

Let's hope Dave Rennie can get a similar message across to his troops for tonight's game, which kicks-off at 7.35pm and is live on Premier Sports and BBC Radio Shortbread.

The other semi-final goes ahead at the RDS in Dublin tomorrow, kick-off 2.30pm, featuring Leinster and Munster. Mike Adamson leads an all-SRU officiating team, with Lloyd Linton and Keith Allen on the flags and Neil Patterson in the TV van. This game is also live on Premier Sports.