Glasgow Warriors: Victory over Saracens confirms title tilt on two fronts

In the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup, Glasgow won 11 of their 13 matches and secured a bonus point in nine of them. Their consistency in both tournaments represents new ground for them.

This is the first time that Glasgow will be fighting on two fronts with realistic odds in both competitions. This can bring its own stress, but for now it’s all hype. Scotstoun was a special place to be on Sunday.

The last 16 is an eternal end in the first week of April, but there is nothing to fear at home. If you go by seeding, the Bulls, Toulon and Leinster will come to Scotland to face them, and all is going well. There are many worlds between experiencing these aspects at home and not away.

“We always come out and try to be brave and stick to the ball and make plays from anywhere,” Horne said in the aftermath. Half the party was a buzz bomb in that opening half, an unstoppable little man among giants.

“You dream and hope to achieve four victories out of four,” he said. “I think that’s the difference this year. We really believe in that.

“We faced two of the most successful teams in Europe over the last few years (or ever). We showed that if we play to our best, we can match them (or beat them easily).”

“Look, with the round of 16, it’s knockout rugby. So we’ve got to keep doing our best and, yeah, just go for it, to be honest.”

Glasgow entered this season experiencing some decline. They lost Tom Jordan, a vital component of their URC title win, Henco Venter, a great leader, and Seb Cancelliere, a versatile and wonderfully consistent prospect.

They were knocked out of Europe by a cruel Leinster, who put them 50 points down, before losing the URC title in another comprehensive defeat in Dublin in the semi-final.

They were supposed to be in retreat. It was supposed to slowly fade away, its players leaving and their results dwindling.

But Smith reinvented things. He came through new wave. No one could have imagined this, not in their wildest dreams.

Glasgow are the contenders. Smith will have to get used to carrying the weight of expectation and joy.