Pride at stake for Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors in 1872 Cup second leg

Edinburgh Rugby go in search of revenge in the second leg of the 1872 Cup – but after an emphatic victory last week Glasgow Warriors are looking to secure the festive silverware and confirm their dominance in the fixture.

Warriors, the reigning URC champions, dismantled their rivals in front of more than 27,000 spectators at Hampden Park in the first leg of the derby double-header, cruising into a 33-0 lead in Glasgow’s southside before two late tries salvaged some pride for Edinburgh.

That gives Franco Smith’s men a 19-point aggregate lead going into the showdown at Murrayfield on Saturday, where a record-setting crowd of just under 40,000 is expected to be in attendance.

Sean Everitt makes four changes to Edinburgh’s starting line-up with hooker Dave Cherry making his 100^th appearance for the club in place of the injured Ewan Ashman and Sam Skinner replacing Marshall Sykes at lock. Venter and Ben Muncaster also came into the pack.

Glasgow make one enforced change as Gregor Hiddleston replaces Johnny Matthews at hooker, and Jamie Dobie starts at scrum-half in place of George Horne.

What the Head Coaches Say

Sean Everitt: “It is massive for the players, under the scrutiny they are facing in the media and the criticism of their performances away from home. They are certainly motivated to show the spectators that they have pride in the jersey – and I know that they do have even if sometimes the performances don’t show that.

“They are also very proud Scotsmen. Guys like Jamie Ritchie and Grant Gilchrist wear the Thistle with pride and they don’t want to let their supporters and their families down. It is going to be a big day for us against a very good Glasgow team.

“We know what is coming and we know what we need to do. They are a team that continually pressures you with ball in hand. Being patient and disciplined is key. We weren’t good enough at that on Sunday and we paid the price for that.

“We get a second bite at it here at Murrayfield. This team plays really well at home and they are relishing the chance.”

Franco Smith: “I think the 1872 Cup adds to this competition – it adds to the URC, to the rivalry and to the entertainment value. People are going to come from Glasgow, from Edinburgh, and fill Murrayfield to make this a spectacular day.

“The boys are very motivated and eager to play well and create a product that makes Scotland proud. For all the supporters – be they Glasgow or Edinburgh – we want to put on a performance that makes them proud.

“We always know the second leg away from home is challenging. We found that out last year by losing in the last minutes so we expect this game to be a tough one again. We don’t want to lose – nobody wants to lose. Last year in Edinburgh took away a little bit of the joy of winning the 1872 Cup so we want to be the best version of ourselves.

“We know now that they know what to do to get under our skin and how to get to the outside of the pitch against us so our aim for this week is to be even better and for a longer period. If we want to compete in important games going forward we have got to play until the last minute.”

Line-Ups

Edinburgh Rugby: Goosen, Graham, Currie, M. Tuipulotu, Van der Merwe, Thompson, Price; Venter, Cherry, Rae, Skinner, Gilchrist, Ritchie, Crosbie, Muncaster

Glasgow Warriors: Rowe, Cancelliere, Jones, S. Tuipulotu, Steyn, Jordan, Dobie; Bhatti, Hiddleston, Z. Fagerson, Brown, Cummings, Miller, M. Fagerson, Mann