Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend says losing to Connacht was the best thing that could have happened to Warriors Guinness PRO12 defence. Their 14-7 defeat to Connacht two weeks ago meant they would have to travel to Galway again for the semi-finals.The reigning champions are back at the Sportsgroun

Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend says losing to Connacht was the best thing that could have happened to Warriors Guinness PRO12 defence. Their 14-7 defeat to Connacht two weeks ago meant they would have to travel to Galway again for the semi-finals.The reigning champions are back at the Sportsground on Saturday where history is against them - no away team has ever won a semi-final in the competition. However, despite being forced to do it the hard way, Townsend claims coming out of the teams last meeting second best has proved to be a blessing in disguise. Glasgow Warriors players lift last seasons PRO 12 trophy He said: It was the best thing that could have happened to us.You learn more from defeat. You do get confidence from victories but you find out how to be better after a loss. Things get put through the magnifying glass.Weve had two weeks preparation to put things right. It would have been better for the club and our supporters to have been at home but having that defeat has really sharpened our focus ahead of this weekend. Our preparation has been better than normal because the team we just lost to and who we want to put a few things right against is who we play in the next game.We will learn from where we could be better and try to get our strengths out.But whether you are home or away, these games are always going to be tough. We lost away to Leinster three years ago by just two points. Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend says his side wants to put things right We won two years ago at home to Munster by a point and then against Ulster last year by a point. So they are always tight. Whoever takes their opportunities will win.A sell-out 9,500 crowd is expected to pack into Connachts home arena but while the vast majority will be supporting Pat Lams side, Townsend hopes his teams vast reserves of experience will give Glasgow the upper hand. Gregor Townsend says defeat was best thing for Glasgow The Scotstoun side have reached the play-offs for the last five years straight but this is Connachts debut appearance in the semis.Townsend said: That experience might help us. It might not given Connacht beat us last time and are at home, so they will be pretty confident. Matt Healy celebrates Connachts win over Glasgow Its a new experience for them and Im sure it will be a fantastic atmosphere at the Sportsground. Its great for Connacht and their supporters that they are getting to host a semi-final.But we want to put them under pressure and see if they will make mistakes. Whether that is because they have not played in a semi-final before or because they are playing a very good Glasgow team doesnt matter so long as we get the right outcome and Glasgow win the game.Connacht: 15 Tiernan OHalloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Matt Healy, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 1 Ronan Loughney, 2 Tom McCartney, 3 Finlay Bealham, 4 Ultan Dillane, 5 Aly Muldowney, 6 Eoin McKeon, 7 Jake Heenan. 8 John Muldoon (c).Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 JP Cooney, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Andrew Browne, 20 Sean OBrien, 21 John Cooney, 22 Shane OLeary, 23 Peter Robb.Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 1 Gordon Reid, 2 Fraser Brown, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 5 Jonny Gray (c), 6 Ryan Wilson, 7 Simone Favaro, 8 Josh Strauss.Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Darcy Rae, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Adam Ashe, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Taqele Naiyaravoro.Watch Connacht v Glasgow live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Saturday from 6.00pm. 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A seething Michael Cheika has given his reshuffled Wallabies the ammunition to come out firing against France, after taking exception to his side being labelled a B team.Chiekas team announced on Thursday, which featured 11 new faces and a positional change to new skipper David Pocock from last weeks last-gasp win over Scotland, raised plenty of eyebrows around Paris.Conscious of the heavy workload of some players, Cheika opted to rest the likes of captain Stephen Moore and vice-captain Michael Hooper, as well as stars Israel Folau and Bernard Foley.The French press accused Australia of treating the match without the respect it deserved, with the Wallabies choosing to rest weary stars ahead of the crucial grand slam showdowns with Ireland and England.When it came to motivating his side, Cheika was leaving nothing to chance.He seized upon the B team gibes expressed in the French media and immediately took them to his team.I explained to them that the response to our selection was that we were playing with an equipe bis (a back-up team), Cheika said on Friday.When asked what the teams reaction to the slight had been, Cheika said: Well see tomorrow night (reaction).They didnt say anything, I told them what it meant, I left it with them.Pocock, who returns to the captaincy ffor the first time since August 2012, said it was a special fixture and one which no player selected would take lightly.ddddddddddddObviously a bunch of new players get an opportunity this week and thats really exciting because weve got depth in our squad, Pocock said.Something weve been working hard on is getting everyone up to speed and having a lot of competition at training.To see guys get opportunities as a player is exciting.To play here, its one of the great grounds to play at. Its incredibly loud.A unique atmosphere. Its definitely a special night.Cheika joked during the week that the French might not have seen much of Kyle Godwin, who will become the Wallabies 13th debutant in 2016, or fullback Luke Morahan, who joins from outside the squad to play his third Test.But Pocock played down the advantage that might be gained from having some surprise selections - pointing to Frances heavy 52-8 win over Samoa last week as evidence that the home side are a dangerous outfit.Im not sure if its an advantage. They looked very good against Samoa, Pocock said.I thought in attack and defence they were exceptional. Were expecting a very tough game. ' ' '