Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors rematch will see punches thrown as starved attack eyes 1872 Cup redemption

Both players were starved of the ball during Glasgow Warriors’ 24-12 win in the first of the two inter-city derbies played over the festive period and therein lies the problem for the capital side.

Edinburgh put in a huge defensive effort, particularly in the first half, but as their coach Sean Everitt noted afterwards, “you can't win a game on that alone”.

Graham and van der Merwe cut frustrated figures at Hampden on a day when the forward packs dominated and a game of rugby never really threatened to break out.

It’s hard to recall a single opportunity for either winger to run with ball in hand and van der Merwe’s misery was complete when he was substituted in the 67th minute. Everitt said later he had taken a blow to the hip.

Whether he will be fit for the second leg of the 1872 Cup at Murrayfield this Saturday remains to be seen but, regardless of the personnel, Edinburgh need to find a way to bring their backline into the game and, in the words of their captain Magnus Bradbury, “throw some punches”.

Bradbury: ‘Throw some punches’

“We can commend ourselves for the fight that we had,” said the Edinburgh No 8. “We held them out and nullified their attack at times, but we can’t keep doing it. Usually in a game you’re going to face two, three, four of those sets that we defended for what seemed like the whole game.

“So I think what we can take from that is we need to work on our attack and throw some punches in attack so we’re not getting into their 22 or their half then suddenly we’re back in our own 22. Because any team in the world, no matter how good your defence is, is going to break at some point. Teams will work that out.”

Getting their wingers on the ball is not a new problem for Edinburgh, with van der Merwe in particular cutting an isolated figure too often. Cammy Scott has played well in recent weeks at stand-off, most notably in the stirring win over Toulon in the Champions Cup, but neither he nor replacement 10 Ross Thompson managed to open up Glasgow on Saturday. It leaves Everitt and attack coach Scott Mathie with much to ponder over their turkey.

For Glasgow, the aim will be to avoid falling into the trap of the last two years when they won well at home in the first leg and then lost the return at Murrayfield.

Glasgow don’t want a bitter taste

Jamie Dobie, who played on the left wing for Glasgow at Hampden and twice went close in the corner, said those experiences left “a bitter taste” as the Warriors squad were presented with the 1872 Cup in the aftermath of an aggregate victory but a defeat on the day.

“In the last couple of years we've obviously had strong performances in the first leg at home but haven’t backed that up and lost away at Murrayfield,” said Dobie. “And even though you win the cup at the end of that, it's always that bittersweet feeling that we haven't performed well in that second game.

“This will be a quick turnaround and you're playing the same opposition, so it's a bit easier in terms of review-preview. You combine them.

“It's a massive week for us. We've spoken already about these two games being two halves and the job's not done at all. Last year, we had probably an extra day off and maybe our prep wasn't on it as much as it needed to be. I think everyone's going to be as focused for this week as they have been for the game at Hampden because it's massive for us and for the league table and league points.

“I think we were all so disappointed with the performance and the result in the second leg last year. It sort of left a bitter taste in the mouth. You have to wait a long time to play Edinburgh again, so we'll be taking no chances this weekend and preparing for another massive game. Winning these two games can be a massive springboard for the rest of our season.”

Edinburgh have injury concerns

The first-leg result means Edinburgh drop to 11th in the United Rugby Championship standings with just two wins from six games. They trail fourth-placed Glasgow by 12 points, although the Warriors have played a game more.

Edinburgh are likely to be without both Ewan Ashman and Piers O'Conor for Murrayfield after both players failed head injury assessments in the first half. It stretches their already limited resources further. Before the game at Hampden, they had 17 players on their injured list.

Glasgow reported a clean bill of health in the immediate aftermath of the game although Sione Tuipulotu was cramping up near the end. Understandable perhaps after three huge games in a row which have seen the Warriors beat Sale and Toulouse in Europe and then Edinburgh.

All the tries at Hampden were scored by the forwards, with Matt Fagerson first off the mark for Glasgow in the 10th minute and Adam Hastings converting. Dylan Richardson replied for Edinburgh and the score was 7-5 at half-time but two tries in four minutes early in the second half from Rory Darge and Gregor Hiddleston increased Glasgow’s lead to 19-5. Grant Gilchrist closed the gap to seven points with a converted try for Edinburgh in the 72nd minute but any hope they had of taking anything from the game was snuffed out by late score from Warriors replacement hooker Seb Stephen.