Edinburgh-Glasgow Warriors reaction: No looking at logs, poor spectacle and 'can't speak on behalf of her'

The official attendance for Saturday’s second leg at Murrayfield was 38,179, the second biggest crowd ever to watch a club game in Scotland, but excitement was in short supply as Glasgow Warriors beat Edinburgh 21-3, winning the trophy 45-15 on aggregate.

With 21,093 at Hampden last week for the first leg, it means almost 60,000 watched the two games but neither produced much in the way of running rugby, not that Glasgow will be too despondent. It’s the fourth year in a row they have lifted the silverware but the first time since 2022 that they have won both legs.

Sean Everitt, the Edinburgh coach, admitted it was a tough watch at times as both teams struggled to create opportunities.

“It wasn't a great spectacle at all, and I was just chatting to Nigel Carolan [Glasgow’s attack coach], and he's also frustrated at the way the Warriors performed,” said Everitt. “But I think the teams are really going at each other physically, and obviously defence is a big part of the game. Glasgow kept us out more than we kept them out, and ultimately they were the winners.”

Glasgow held a precarious 7-3 lead from the 31st minute to the 75th but late tries from George Horne and Jamie Dobie - his second of the game - secured the win and left Edinburgh pointless from the double-header. They have won only two from seven in the URC this season and remain 11th in the table and Everitt knows they face a battle to climb into the top eight and the play-off positions.

‘A long way to go in URC’

“Every year it seems to be that way,” said the Edinburgh coach. “But, like I say, we've got a long way to go in this competition. We've got a game in hand as well, which we've got to make the most of.

“Looking at the logs in December is probably not a good thing to do because a lot can change and a lot can happen. What we do have to do is improve on our performance tonight and take our strengths, which has been our defence, to Benetton next week and get a win there.”

Glasgow, by contrast, have now won four big games in a row, following up the European Cup triumphs over Sale and Toulouse with the back-to-back victories over Edinburgh.

“To be honest, it was not our easiest night out there, let’s put it that way,” said Franco Smith, the Warriors coach. “I thought Edinburgh stepped up again: they're at home, they're a proud team, which I think Scotland must be proud of as well. They've got a lot of heart, but in the end, I'm really, really proud that we stuck to the plan and got it done.”

Glasgow pushed hard for a fourth try in the final moments and Smith thought they should have had one more attack which could have yielded the bonus-point score. Hollie Davidson, the referee, thought otherwise and called time when Dan Lancaster kicked the ball out.

“I thought there was a penalty advantage so you can understand why Dan kicked the ball there,” said Smith. “I think we probably didn't deserve it, to be honest, but the opportunity was there and I'm a little bit disappointed not to get it.”

Asked if he had sought out Davidson for an explanation, Smith added: “Not really. I didn't go and ask, but I think just before there was a knock-on advantage and that became a penalty advantage so maybe she confused the two. But I can't speak on behalf of her.”

Nine points out of ten from the two 1872 Cup games is a very good return for Glasgow who find themselves ensconced in the top four as the regular season approaches the halfway point.

With such a heavy schedule, Smith tried to freshen things up by keeping some of this frontline forwards on the bench, unleashing the likes of Zander Fagerson, Nathan McBeth and Scott Cummings early in the second half.

“I think we came with a plan a little bit different to last year’s,” said the coach. “It's a difficult period in this part of the season because emotion plays a big role. With Christmas and everybody seeing family, sometimes you get drained from emotion.

“We planned to bring energy in another way through fresh guys coming off and having played for a bit, with the idea that we can always have the other players coming in to finish the game regardless of what the score was.”