Glasgow will use pain of last year's final loss - Gordon Reid

Gordon Reid expects a physical brawl in Saturday's Pro12 final

As Glasgow prepare for Saturday's Pro12 final, prop Gordon Reid recalls the words of his coach and captain following the pain of last year's loss.

The Warriors fell to an anticlimactic 34-12 defeat to Leinster - but boss Gregor Townsend and skipper Al Kellock had some prophetic prose to impart.

"Gregor and Al always said: remember these days," Reid told BBC Scotland. "We're going to be here next year.

"It was disappointing; we were definitely second-best in that game."

The Ayrshire powerhouse is eyeing a second crack at the domestic showpiece against Munster in Belfast, but cautioned the squad must keep their preparations simple.

"Last year, I thought we over-thought the final," Reid continued. "This year, it's taking it easy, not over-thinking it too much.

"We know we're all good rugby players, that's why we're here, we just need to put that into practice.

"It will sizzle up onto the week - when it hits game day, we're wheels off, let's go for it. It's no different to any other game. We're still human beings; we're not playing against robots here."

If a comparison were drawn between rugby men and machines, the scarlet swarms of Munster are perhaps about as close as it gets to sporting androids.

Thrice Pro12 champions, and on two occasions crowned kings of Europe, Anthony Foley's team possess a rich history and pedigree, and a reputation for the derring-do.

Gregor Townsend and Al Kellock boosted their squad's morale last year

"They have a big physical pack, hard-running boys round the corner," Reid added. "They've been here, they've been at this high standard of rugby and we're just new to it after a couple of years.

"It's going to be steel hitting steel - we need to be the harder steel, we need to be the bigger steel, we need to smash them."

Reid played his part in steadying a set-piece that threatened to buckle from the bench in last week's semi-final triumph over Ulster.

"There are few improvements I think we need to be making - the scrum and the line-outs," he acknowledged. "After different people coming in, it's hard to adjust, we've been working hard on it this week.

"I know my roles, I've done it on the training park, I've run through my plays, I know what I need to do."