Edinburgh v Glasgow: Five takeaways as Bomb Squad ‘come to the rescue’ for Warriors to secure ‘bragging rights’
Glasgow Warriors secured the 1872 Cup after beating Edinburgh at Murrayfield
Following Glasgow Warriors’ 21-3 win over Edinburgh in the second 1872 Cup fixture at Murrayfield, here are our five key takeaways.
The top line
Glasgow Warriors secured an 1872 Cup clean sweep over Scottish rivals Edinburgh, following up last weekend’s victory with a gritty 21-3 win at Murrayfield.
They had to bide their time before grabbing the all-important table points, with Jamie Dobie’s effort the only try of the half, but they held a 7-3 lead at the break.
It was a long wait for the next score, but one quickly turned into two to secure the win. George Horne was on hand for the first, crossing from short range in the 75th minute, before Dobie again added his name to the scoresheet with a stunning effort in the 78th minute.
That was enough to eventually take home the spoils, ending a torrid run in the Capital city in the process, and handing Glasgow the 1872 Cup.
Bragging rights secured
It was by no means the greatest two games of rugby in the world, but that won’t matter to Glasgow after securing bragging rights over their bitter rivals ahead of the New Year.
The Warriors had to do it the hard way, waiting until the second half in both games to eventually pull away, but the 45-15 aggregate win certainly does them justice in the grand scheme of things, alongside the all-important clean sweep of wins too.
Glasgow did just seem the better side right across the two matches, even if they had to bide their time. They created far more chances and far more opportunities than their opponents, and always seemed like they would eventually burst the dam, despite Edinburgh’s stubborn defence.
The battle up front was also pivotal in both games, but again it was the Warriors that held their nerve in that one. Their patience in the tight, keeping it simple and tight before then getting the breaks that came with it, was so pivotal in their two late explosions.
Again, it was by no means the prettiest win, but it’s a real statement.
In the wider context of the URC, too, these two wins have pushed them firmly back into the title picture after what was a disappointing defeat against the Scarlets, sitting just one point behind second-placed Cardiff and extending their lead on the teams below them in the play-off race.
Injuries mount for Edinburgh
The defeat, both in today’s game and the wider 1872 Cup loss, will sting for a good while, but it’s also come at a heavy price.
Things got off to a bad start early in the day, with Duhan van der Merwe and Boan Venter pulling out of the game at the 11th hour through injury, but that wasn’t the end of it.
Scotland international Dylan Richardson was taken off early into the first-half with what looked like a shoulder injury, while Jack Brown withdrew in the opening exchanges with a head knock.
In the final moments of the game, too, Wes Goosen took his leave after receiving some treatment on the pitch.
These injuries will really hurt the club heading into a gruelling block in the New Year, especially with the others who are already out of action. It could be a tough few weeks for Edinburgh.
Bomb Squad impact
As mentioned earlier, this was by no means a pretty win for the 2024 URC champions, but their Bomb Squad certainly came to the rescue in the second half.
While the score didn’t change between minute 31 and 75, the bench – loaded with Scottish and Lions stars – came up with some decisive moments that eventually broke Edinburgh’s spirits.
The introduction of the front-row helped shift the momentum in the scrum, with Zander Fagerson in particular forcing penalties out of his Edinburgh opponent Pierre Schoeman, while the likes of Gregor Hiddleston, Scott Cummings, Gregor Brown and Rory Darge helped turn the tide up front with some serious smash-and-bash.
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One area that was crucial, though, was the lineout. The towering duo of Cummings and Brown just caused havoc for the Edinburgh drill, forcing plenty of errors as the game went on, and backed that up with some solid work on their own ball. That, in turn, helped set up the platform for the all-decisive second try in the 75th minute.
On the whole, they just seemed to bring a new level of intent to that battle up front, stemming Edinburgh’s momentum, turning things around and eventually breaking away.
Scotland watch
As you would expect with a game like this, there were a number of Scotland stars who impressed against their fellow Six Nations hopefuls.
Jamie Dobie thrived out wide, grabbing a double for his efforts, and crucially seemed to have the better of his wing duel against Darcy Graham.
Adam Hastings showed real flashes of quality ball-in-hand, which was especially impressive considering the conditions, which in turn saw centre duo Sione Tuipulotu and Stafford McDowall have some nice moments to boot. George Horne also impressed, as you would expect from the scrum-half.
Replacements Z. Fagerson, Brown, Cummings and Darge also gave a good account of themselves.
Magnus Bradbury again stood out for the hosts, while Schoeman and Grant Gilchrist got stuck in as well.