Sean Everitt confident Edinburgh can overturn deficit in 1872 Cup

Sean Everitt believes Edinburgh are capable of overturning a 12-point deficit in the second leg of the 1872 Cup at Murrayfield but admits they must be far more disciplined than they were in their 22-10 defeat at Glasgow on Friday night.

The men from the capital must produce a big win at the national stadium next Saturday if they are to prevent Warriors retaining the inter-city silverware.

“It is a big deficit but rugby has a funny way of working itself out,” said senior coach Everitt.

“If we play well and execute accurately, there’s no reason why we can’t get the score we need.”

Edinburgh looked to be in a good position as they led 10-8 going into the final quarter after WP Nel cancelled out Kyle Rowe’s early try for the hosts.

But Everitt’s side wilted badly after that, with tries from Warriors pair Johnny Matthews and Ally Miller coming while Grant Gilchrist was in the sin-bin following a 65th minute yellow card.

“We had a slow start in the first 20, it looked like we were a bit shaky, nervous,” said Everitt.

“But we managed to keep them to eight and then got back into the game pretty well before half-time.

“And then we were on top in the second half again but then came a lack of discipline. We conceded eight penalties in the last 24 minutes and if you do that against a team that mauls really well in these conditions, you’re going to be up against it, and obviously the yellow card didn’t help.”

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith praised his injury-hit side for the way they ground out victory despite being without a string of key men, including Scotland internationals Jack Dempsey, Kyle Steyn, Ollie Smith, Matt Fagerson and Jamie Dobie.

“We’ve got 12 injuries, people who probably would have been involved in the game, but the other guys stepped up and that is the plan: to build a strong squad,” said Smith.

“I say always, you need a great squad to make a good team.”

Smith is hopeful that Scotland hooker George Turner, who was forced off in the first half on Friday, will not be added to the absentee list for next weekend’s trip to Edinburgh.

“It was just a shot to his bicep,” said Smith.

“We’ll assess it but it doesn’t look that serious at the moment. It’s serious enough but we’ll have a better idea when the medical team have done their job.”