At 5pm on June 4, 2022 in Dublin's was a very, very low ebb for Glasgow Warriors fans.
The team were thrashed 76-14 by Leinster in a URC quarter-final. Almost a point a minute from the Irishmen, it was the most embarrassing defeat I can remember in all the years of watching.
The worst part? We all saw it coming. The Danny Wilson era was done. Sacked the next day, there was a malaise around the club. A baron period beckoned. A spell at the bottom end of the table seemed inevitable.
A little over two years later and now we prepare for our second major final since that defeat. The turnaround simply incredible to watch.
2015 was our first and only League victory. That was an unbelievable day in Belfast as the Leone Nakarawa final played out at the Kingspan. Glasgow were unplayable that day. Munster unable to keep pace or get themselves back into it. Totally destroyed by the Fijian wonder and his talented team-mates.
I was there that day. Sitting in the stand behind the posts as Glasgow attacked towards us in the first half. Belfast was not particularly pleasant weather-wise but it mattered not a jot once that game got going. After heartbreak in Dublin the year before, nothing was going to stop us.
DTH van der Merwe, Henry Pyrgos and Rob Harley with the first-half scores, Finn Russell in the second but it was big Leone that day who I really remember, well that and Sean Lamont popping his dislocated shoulder back into place!
The 'Weegie fae Fiji' put in the greatest single performance I have ever had the pleasure of watching live. The offloads, evading tackles, his passing, his causally stroking the ball across the turf like Andrea Pirlo!
The chants of “WE ARE WARRIORS” ringing out as Big Al lifted the trophy. It was an incredible day. Not sure how many Guinness I had but fair to say I enjoyed it! And the after party the next night was even better! I cradled that trophy same way I would with my son born a few months later.
The noise, the atmosphere, the manor of the win, it was one of the best trips of my life. No exaggeration. We would not be stopped that day. The All Blacks could’ve been the opposition, we’d still have won. It was destiny!
READ MORE: Richie Vernon looks back at Glasgow's 2015 title success
Nine years on and we have the chance to do it all again, albeit in very different surroundings. The squad is completely different, but not lacking the talent and commitment of that 2015 alumni.
The flair of Nakarawa replaced with the grit and graft of Cummings, Gray the younger replaced by Gray the elder, a George for a Pete. Swap a North American for a South American on the wing… I could go on, but the point is we are blessed to have seen such talented players reach another final in our colours.
The class of 2015 against this season's finalists would make for a very interesting game.
Returning to my original comments, Glasgow in 2022 were nothing close to the 2015 or 2024 sides. And I think you can lay the rebuild at the door of one man.
Franco Smith may be a quiet man when he’s in front of the camera, but he’s a man you listen to and a man that you can feel the passion and commitment from.
He expects the best version of yourself, he instils belief in every one of his players.
He’s given them the tools and trusts them to use it. I’ve been lucky enough to attend a few Warriors fans meetings and forums that he has attended and he has the audience listening intently and you come away wanting to run through a brick wall for him.
The man from Lichtenburg, near the border with Botswana, has been a breath of fresh air for the Warriors. He’s bought into the Warriors style of play and the players have bought into his coaching methods. You only have to listen to the way Kyle Steyn and the rest of the boys talk about him to realise there is real harmony in that dressing room.
Steyn has been one of his most inspired choices as captain. He is calm, cool and speaks incredibly well, both on and off the pitch. It’s these kind of decisions that fans judge coaches on and it’s fair to say he’s got the majority of them correct.
Saturday will be no easy feat. Pretoria is expected to be 23 degrees on Saturday at kick off time. We’re lucky if we get that in the summer, never mind it being their winter.
The altitude is another factor. It affected Glasgow a few weeks ago, and they had a bit more prep time for that than this has afforded.
READ MORE: How Glasgow Warriors prepare for altitude in South Africa
They also didn’t have a bruising encounter with Munster the week before! But if that game has taught us anything, it’s that Glasgow can go away from home and do the unexpected.
And there’s no doubt, this would definitely be the hard way to win a title. But Franco promised a final in the last fans' meeting and he’s again delivered.
Win or lose on Saturday, I will be immensely proud of the players. They’ve worked bloody hard this season to get to this position. They’ve put some incredible performances in and put their bodies on the line time and time again. Been written off, bounced back and never taken their foot off the pedal.
We can do it, we can win the URC, but regardless, we always have one thing in common…WE ARE WARRIORS!!!!!!!!!!!
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