Glasgow Warriors have developed a taste for knockout rugby under Franco Smith who has guided the squad to finals last season and the year before. If they are to make it three in a row they will need to overcome Leinster in Dublin, just about the toughest mission in club rugby at the moment. Glasgow’s United Rugby Championship crown is on the line at the Aviva in Saturday’s semi-final and, just like last year, the Warriors will need to win on Irish soil if they are to reach the final. “Leinster are a formidable opponent and we hugely respect what they're going to bring this week,” said Josh McKay, the Glasgow full-back, who made his comeback from injury in last week’s quarter-final win over the Stormers at Scotstoun. “I think the biggest thing now is it's finals footie, it's win or go home. There's no second shot at this. I think last weekend was a good start for us and we've shown in the play-offs last year that we can go and do it on the road. But the biggest thing is we just focus on ourselves and just worry about turning up with the right mindset and then we'll be good to go.” The New Zealander missed out through injury when Glasgow lost out in the Challenge Cup final in 2023 but helped them go all the way in 2024, playing the full 80 minutes in all three play-off games, culminating in the win over the Bulls in the URC final in South Africa. Then, as now, they beat the Stormers in the last eight before going to Limerick to take on Munster in the semis. They won that one 17-10 but it’s likely to be even tougher in Dublin. “I guess we can lean in on last season a little bit but at the end of the day this is a new season,” said McKay. “We've got a new group, everything's unfolding differently. “It's obviously there in the back of your mind but that's not going to be enough. That's just scratching the surface. We're going to have to be very diligent in our prep this week.” The return of McKay added some dynamism in the back field for Glasgow who have been without the hard-running full-back for much of the second half of the season. He underwent surgery on an ankle problem in February, came back for the game against Zebre but was then sidelined again when he picked up an infection around the original injury. “It was good to be back,” he said. “Obviously it sucks being on the sidelines and not being able to do your bit for the team, so I've just been working away in the background trying to get myself back fit, fit for contention and hopefully make an impact in these play-offs. So it was definitely good on a personal note to be back out there with the boys. “I’m back to 100 per cent now. I had to get surgery on the ankle back in March and then got back against Zebre and then had a little bit of an infection in the ankle. So that's all sorted now and if anything that just gave the ankle a bit more time to settle down. It feels solid now and I’m just looking forward to ripping into the tail end of the season.”