Edinburgh edge Glasgow but Warriors have last laugh

Edinburgh defeated Glasgow 10-7 in a Murrayfield dogfight but were unable to stop Franco Smith’s side claiming the 1872 Cup for a third year running.

Protecting a 19-point first-leg lead after blitzing their inter-city rivals 33-14 at Hampden last Sunday, the United Rugby Championship champions were knocked out of their stride by Sean Everitt’s side in a stuffy second leg in front of 40,063 people, a record crowd for a Scottish club rugby match.

With Edinburgh leading 3-0 at the interval, a 69th minute penalty try turned the game in Glasgow’s favour before Pierre Schoeman hit back instantly to ensure Edinburgh won the day and claimed four points.

Warriors took the 1872 Cup by an aggregate score of 40-24, although the fact they lost the second leg for the second year running, picking up just one point in the process, meant there were no celebrations when they were presented with the silverware afterwards.

A cagey first quarter was notable only for the sight of Edinburgh back-rower Hamish Watson coming off the bench to make his first appearance in two months in place of Jamie Ritchie, who went off for a head injury assessment which he failed.

The hosts got the scoreboard ticking over in the 23rd minute when Ross Thompson sent a penalty between the posts.

The former Glasgow stand-off had a chance to add another three points to his tally 10 minutes later but his kick from 45 metres out drifted well wide.

Edinburgh head coach Everitt had joked that his side only needed to win both halves 10-0 to claim the 1872 Cup, and it looked for a moment like they might be about get the first part of that right as they exerted pressure in front of the line in the lead-up to half-time.

However, just as they seemed set to score in the 38th minute following a quick tap penalty, Luke Crosbie dropped the ball as he reached out over the line, meaning they had to settle for a modest 3-0 interval advantage.

Glasgow cranked up the pressure as the match moved into the final quarter and they thought they had scored in the 67th minute but Rory Darge was held up on the line.

However, the Warriors got themselves ahead two minutes later when they were awarded a penalty try after the hosts collapsed the maul, with replacement hooker Paddy Harrison sent to the sin bin.

Despite this setback, Edinburgh restored their lead just a minute later when Scotland prop Schoeman, who signed a new long-term deal this week, bulldozed his way over, with Ben Healy adding the extras.