1872 Cup: Edinburgh Rugby bite back at Glasgow Warriors' 'little brother' jibe

The Warriors are looking to win the trophy for the fourth year in a row and take on their oldest rivals in the first leg of the festive double-header at Hampden on Saturday and again at Murrayfield a week later.

The hosts are overwhelming favourites to emerge victorious at Mount Florida, with some bookmakers offering odds as short as 1-5.

Everitt has other ideas and admitted he had been targeting these games for some time and expects “war for 80 minutes”. The Edinburgh coach rested many of his Scotland internationals for last weekend’s Champions Cup tie against Castres in France and has recalled Darcy Graham, Duhan van der Merwe, Pierre Schoeman, Grant Gilchrist and captain Magnus Bradbury for the match at Hampden.

That didn’t go unnoticed at Scotstoun and Dempsey had his say this week.

“They haven't had this trophy now for three years or so,” said the Glasgow No 8. “So their priority is obviously to get it back, which as a competitor I can understand. So we know they'll be that extra bit fresh in their group.”

‘A good motivator’

The annual two-legged dust-up requires Scotland team-mates to become rivals for 160 minutes and Dempsey added a little spice to the build-up when he said: “You're just playing up against your little brother or your big brother, depending on who you are. And the way we are right now, we're the big brother.”

If Dempsey was laying down the gauntlet, Everitt was happy to pick it up.

“Sometimes little brothers beat up big brothers and we've done that 50 per cent of the time since I've been here,” said the Edinburgh coach.

“They've won their home games, we've won our home games. So yes, an interesting statement, but a good one for us and a good motivator.”

The inter-city series has followed a familiar pattern since Everitt took over at Edinburgh in the summer of 2023. In each of the last two seasons Glasgow have won their home leg convincingly before being beaten narrowly at Murrayfield. The Warriors have lifted the silverware, coming out on top on aggregate, but Edinburgh have restored a modicum of pride with their second-leg wins.

Changing the narrative

Everitt wants to change the narrative and expects there to be plenty of verbal back and forth when the sides meet.

“I think the guys know each other pretty well and I know that there's a lot of banter going on behind the scenes,” he said. “They stay together for six weeks at a time [during international camps] and sometimes longer during the Six Nations, so they do know each other extremely well.

“This day is a special day where everything is put aside and it's pretty much war for 80 minutes. So we're looking forward to that. There will be chirps, I'm sure, and more of them coming and there'll be a lot more on the field as well, but it makes for an interesting day and contest.”

Glasgow named their team earlier in the week, making just one enforced change to the side which beat Toulouse in the Champions Cup. Full-back Josh McKay is out with a hamstring injury and his absence sees George Horne return to the starting side at scrum-half, with Jamie Dobie moving from nine to the wing and Ollie Smith switching from wing to full-back in a recalibrated backline.

How Edinburgh and Glasgow will line up at Hampden

Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors (URC/1872 Cup first leg, Hampden Park, Saturday, 3pm):

Glasgow Warriors: 15. Ollie Smith; 14. Kyle Steyn (capt), 13. Stafford McDowall, 12. Sione Tuipulotu, 11. Jamie Dobie; 10. Adam Hastings, 9. George Horne; 1. Nathan McBeth, 2. Gregor Hiddleston, 3. Zander Fagerson, 4. Max Williamson, 5. Scott Cummings, 6. Matt Fagerson, 7. Rory Darge, 8. Jack Dempsey. Replacements: 16. Seb Stephen, 17. Rory Sutherland, 18. Sam Talakai, 19. Alex Craig, 20. Gregor Brown, 21. Ally Miller, 22. Ben Afshar, 23. Dan Lancaster.

Edinburgh: 15. Wes Goosen; 14. Darcy Graham, 13. Matt Currie, 12. Piers O’Conor, 11. Duhan van der Merwe; 10 Cammy Scott, 9. Ben Vellacott; 1. Pierre Schoeman, 2. Ewan Ashman, 3. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 4. Glen Young, 5. Grant Gilchrist, 6. Liam McConnell, 7. Dylan Richardson, 8. Magnus Bradbury (capt). Replacements: 16. Harri Morris, 17. Boan Venter, 18. Paul Hill, 19. Callum Hunter-Hill, 20. Freddy Douglas, 21. Conor McAlpine, 22. Ross Thompson, 23. Matt Davidson.