The fixture has been dominated by Leinster in recent years. Their emphatic 76-14 quarter-final victory over Glasgow in June 2022 ultimately led to the departure of former head coach Danny Wilson.
Results continued to favour the Irish side, with Glasgow losing 40-5 at the RDS in Franco Smith's first season. However, Warriors showed signs of progress by beating a rotated Leinster side 43-25 at Scotstoun in October 2023.
That remained Leinster's last visit to Glasgow until this weekend. In contrast, Warriors endured a brutal spell in Dublin last season, losing three times in just eight weeks - including a 52-0 Champions Cup quarter-final defeat, followed by a 13-5 loss in the final URC round and a 37-19 quarter-final defeat.
Reflecting on that run, Samuel said: "It was only one team who ended our season last year twice, so there was a bit of extra motivation to go out and get it done."
The Scotland international, who earned Player of the Match honours in the 38-17 victory, added: "I played in all three of those games last year, so it was awesome to get one back on them. That wasn't a bad team they picked. They picked Jack Conan and Ronan Kelleher, who played in all the Six Nations games. I think it was a good sign of respect for what we've built here, because Scotstoun's a tough place to come on a Saturday night."
He also stressed the importance of facing strong opposition: "It gives us a bit of motivation as well. I don't want to go out and play against an academy team. We want to go out and play against the best players and show what we can do."
The match itself was fiery, featuring multiple flashpoints. Glasgow ran in six tries - three while Leinster were reduced to 13 men in the first half - and celebrated turnovers with visible intensity.
Tempers boiled over late on when George Horne scored his second try, sparking a mass confrontation that resulted in yellow cards for Adam Hastings and Rabah Slimani.
Samuel acknowledged the edge to the contest: "There was a lot of chat," he said. "There's always a lot of chat with them. They're quite mouthy. It's quite rare we have really had an opportunity to say much back. I think some of the boys made the most of it tonight, but come the play-offs, that'll be another step up for us."
He was also involved in a moment with Leinster fly-half Sam Prendergast after a contentious incident: "I mean, I thought he dived," added the 23-year-old. "He made the most of it, so I turned around and said, 'what are you doing?' They gave me a bit for that, but it's all part of the game."
Head coach Franco Smith praised Samuel's performance, particularly after a shoulder injury ruled him out of Six Nations contention earlier this year.
"He applied himself so well in contact and from a defensive perspective, and a solid performance around the lineout as well," Smith said. "He works really hard, he's very diligent in the week to make sure he gets everything right, so he merits every accolade."
The victory puts Glasgow in a strong position, four points clear of second placed Stormers, eight points clear of Ulster in third and nine ahead of reigning champions Leinster in fourth, as they push for a top-two finish and home advantage in the play-offs.
However, Smith remains cautious after last season's late drop from second to fourth, which forced a difficult trip to Dublin in the semi-finals.
With a challenging run-in ahead - including fixtures in South Africa against the Lions and Stormers, plus a final-day clash with Ulster - his focus is firmly on the next game.
"A lot of things can go wrong, right?" Smith added. "Last year we were sitting second until the last three games and ended up being fourth, so I'm not going to get ahead of anything here."
He continued: "We've still got to go to South Africa, which is going to be a tough outing after the recent performances of the South African teams. We have the European Cup in the middle of it and a lot of expectation to bat away from the team so that we can focus on how we're going to go about it. For now, we just focus on Benetton. That's going to be another big challenge."