Edinburgh 28
Glasgow Warriors 11
DAVID BARNES @ Murrayfield
AFTER a scrappy first half in which both teams struggled to hold onto the ball long enough to really impose themselves, Edinburgh fired out the traps at the start of the second period to score the game’s decisive try through man-of-the-match Magnus Bradbury, and they never looked back.
This win booked the capital side’s place in the European Champions Cup next season and a United Rugby Championship quarter-final play-off appointment against the Stormers in two weekends’ time, while the margin of victory means that the 1872 Cup has returned east.
It was another dispiriting experience for Warriors, who have now lost four away matches on the bounce, and who were often architects of their own downfall here through childlike indiscipline from senior players, soft turnovers and various other careless errors. They will now play in the second-tier European Challenge Cup next season, and must face the might of Leinster in Dublin in the URC play-offs.
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Having uncharacteristically missed a seventh minute shot at goal, when Sione Tuipulotu got in the way of Ben Vellacott as he tried to move the ball from the base of a ruck, Emiliano Boffelli made amends when an offside gave him another bite at the cherry 10 minutes later.
Glasgow squared it on 21 minutes with Ross Thompson kicking the points following an Edinburgh offside, and they had their best spell of the match during the next five minutes, but then surrendered the initiative when skipper Ryan Wilson was needlessly penalised for his role in a bout of pushing and shoving.
Edinburgh marched up the field and when Bradbury was bundled into touch just yards from the try-line play was called back for an earlier infringement – an Ali Price for an offside – and this time the hosts took full advantage with Darcy Graham‘s dancing feet pulling the opposition defensive line out of shape and Blair Kinghorn spinning out of a Sam Johnson tackle then stretching over the line. Boffelli added the conversion to make 10-3 with just over half an hour played.
Thompson narrowed the gap to four points just before the break when Luke Crosbie was penalised for playing the ball on the deck, but that score was immediately cancelled out by Boffelli when Glasgow captain Ryan Wilson gave away an obstruction penalty at the restart.
A barnstorming run by Luke Crosbie up the left touchline at the start of the second half put Edinburgh onto the front foot, and they scored their second try off a well-executed set-piece move which featured Darcy Graham coming off his wing to make ground in the middle of the park and Chris Dean delivering a perfect no-look pass which sent Bradbury thundering under the posts.
Glasgow were reduced to 14-men when Rob Harley was sin-binned for trying to slap the ball out of Henry Pyrgos’ hands at the base of a ruck, and a Richie Gray offside allowed Boffelli to nudge Edinburgh 15-points ahead – which, crucially, gave the home side an aggregate lead in the 1872 Cup contest.
The game opened up with 20 minutes to go. Dean and Graham had both made good yardage for Edinburgh in separate attacks, while Jack Dempsey and Rufus McLean did likewise for Glasgow, before the hosts got try number three. It was a cracker, with Mark Bennett doing well to generate momentum out of a loose pass which didn’t go to hand, Kinghorn carrying the move on and Boffelli providing the link to send Damien Hoyland over.
In fairness, Warriors rallied to score a fine try through Ollie Smith off an inch-perfect Domingo Miotti cross-kick, which opened up the prospect of getting back to within 13 points of Edinburgh, but that was as close as Danny Wilson‘s side got.
A special mention is due the Edinburgh front-row, with 36-year-old WP Nel and just back from injury Dave Cherry both playing 74 minutes, Pierre Schoeman playing the full 80, and the home scrum still winning penalties with 10 minutes to go, which says a bit about the character of that trio and the team in general.
Teams –
Edinburgh: E Boffelli; D Graham (J van der Walt 74), M Bennett, C Dean (J Lang 60), D Hoyland; B Kinghorn, B Vellacott (H Pyrgos 34); P Schoeman, D Cherry (A McBurney 74), W Nel (L Atalifo 74), J Hodgson (M Sykes 60), G Gilchrist, L Crosbie (B Muncaster 64), H Watson, M Bradbury.
Glasgow Warriors: O Smith; J McKay, S Tuipulotu, S Johnson (S McDowall 71), R McLean; R Thompson (D Miotti 64), A Price (J Dobie 64); J Bhatti ( N McBeth 67), G Turner (J Matthews 69), Z Fagerson (S Berghan 67), R Harley (K McDonald 65), R Gary, R Wilson, T Gordon (G Brown 58), J Dempsey.
Referee: Andrew Brace
Scorers –
Edinburgh: Tries: Kinghorn, Bradbury, Hoyland; Con: Boffelli 2; Pen: Boffelli 2
Glasgow Warriors: Try: Smith; Pen: Thompson 2.
Scoring sequence (Edinburgh first): 3-0; 3-3; 8-3; 10-3; 10-6 13-6 (h-t) 18-6; 21-6; 26-6; 28-6; 28-11.
Yellow cards –
Glasgow Warriors: Harley (50 mins)
Attendance: 24,187
Super6 Sprint: Stirling County book place in top three with win over Heriot’s
Replacement post as previous one never appeared again … ??
Bit of a nearly season for Edinburgh, but given the impact of a new coach and a new stadium, both of which must have impacted performance, I’m willing to take it as positive. Certainly I prefer the Blair era to Cockers, a more entertaining brand of rugby.
If we’d won, just one of the couple of close run defeats, Beneton and Ulster spring to mind, we’d have been top 4, I’d def have taken that !
Feel that we need a few more top class performers to be really competitive, esp as it seems to me the SA teams may be to strong for us, at least we’ll have the Champions Cup money to help fund that?
Looking forward to what I expect is the final game, but I’d like us to give Stormers a real fright, even if we end up losing and let’s go postively into next season !!
Re Glasgow, very dissappointing to see them fall away in so many games, something seems off there, and needs fixed soon.
I think Chris Dean deserves a shot for Scotland at 12 (subject to Cam Redpath’s form/availability). Skilful, physical enough and most importantly has a great rugby brain. He is very effective at creating space with the timing of his pass, often makes clever attacking kicks and has a good break. Not dissimilar a player to Redpath. I have never seen him have a bad game but he is rarely talked about. I feel like he is the kind of player who might not always stand out but does subtle things who makes others around him play well. Outplayed Johnston on Saturday. What do others think?
Might feel like a long time but it was only 2019 Glasgow were in the pro-14 final, good enough for the HC QFs twice under Rennie and easily one of the best teams in the league year after year.
I agree with the gist though, Glasgow are also-rand now, decline has been swift and brutal and Wilson has failed to rebuild the team Rennie left at the end of its life-cycle. I can’t see any prospects for improvement until Wilson is moved on but there is still the core of a v competitive squad there.
Now the SA teams have joined the URC it has raised the stakes in the league and the SRU simply can’t settle for mediocrity which is what we have now under Wilson.
Its a difficult time to be a Glasgow supporter. Glasgow have been in decline for some time now and I’m not seeing any plan to reverse things. Would be good to get The Offsideline to interview Al Kellock in the near future to try and get the Glasgow and SRU side of things. It looks like wholesale change is required and a bit of tinkering with the playing staff wont cut it.
Oh well at least we’re not supporting one of the Welsh regions!
That was a petulant, self-destructive and at times simply stupid display from Glasgow, who could and should be above that. Edinburgh thoroughly deserved their win for the second half performance alone and it’s encouraging that that was due to the players, from Mike Blair’s very honest admission.
A good win for ER. After a scrappy first half where Glasgow had the better of the territory and possession stats, they found another gear, one that Glasgow were unable to match. Very few scrums but Edinburgh seemed to be in control, The lineout was good where they varied the throw using lighter options who they could get in the air quickly and perhaps the more common sense approach of throwing where Richie Gray was not lurking. The backs have come on heaps after last season and have increased their strike percentage – when they get a chance they are far more likely to finish now.
The trip to SA will be tough but there is no reason, if they can field a strong side, that they should not be in the game and get the win.
I’m pleased that Edinburgh squeezed through against a poor team in decline. Another defeat and serious questions would have had to be asked. The crunch failures against Ulster and Wasps still need to be addressed. GT’s all fur coat and nae knickers rugby approach adopted by Blair is not always the answer. A big thanks must go to Cockerill for his positive recruitment last year. Sadly, he was not allowed to continue his work in progress. The recruitment showed that he had greater ambition to develop the style of play. Blair would have been a good backs coach for him and Cockerill’s steely resolve and experience might just have helped in the crunch games. It would have been a good apprenticeship for Blair before taking the top job in a less unseemly manner than actually happened.
The game was slow, pedestrian, lacking skill level expected at this level littered with less than amateur mistakes.
Like the forwards, Tuipulotu was good at running into people but this is not what we look for from a back. I counted zero off-loads for Glasgow and 2 for Edinburgh. Glasgow’s game plan of running into people numerous times and then kicking it away when they either got too tired or they couldn’t concede any more ground was as exciting as watching the plastic grass grow. On the subject of lack of excitement, the length of time it takes Boffelli to kick a ball is disgracefully too long and should be booed at for disrespecting the game and spectators. Add in the eternally long scrummaging and delayed lineouts made what should have been a festival of rugby more like wake. I suppose the hulking giants will be happy with slow boring rugby but the spectators won’t be retuning if this carries on!
We are in the results business of professional sport and the lack of leadership on and off the park is there for all to see. Same players have coughed up cheap penalties all season yet seem to keep the Jersey for the next game and I always thought your captain led by example but not at the Warriors. Time for new coach who won’t sit by as Edinburgh overload their side with young big brawny back rowers whilst we wheel out the same players well past their sell by.Rory Darge the exception to 2nd raters sent along the M8 and need to see some SRU parity together with explanation who signs the players with ‘global’ pedigrees who end up in the Super 6’s on a Saturday???
Been a Warriors fan through thick and thin since the days of the Cal Reds and change at the top is needed NOW
I’m pleased that Edinburgh squeezed through against a poor team in decline. Another defeat and serious questions would have had to be asked. The crunch failures against Ulster and Wasps still need to be addressed. GT’s all fur coat and nae knickers rugby approach adopted by Blair is not always the answer. A big thanks must go to Cockerill for his positive recruitment last year. Sadly, he was not allowed to continue his work in progress. The recruitment showed that he had greater ambition to develop the style of play. Blair would have been a good backs coach for him and Cockerill’s steely resolve and experience might just have helped in the crunch games. It would have been a good apprenticeship for Blair before taking the top job in a less unseemly manner than actually happened.
Danny, but you make a good point regarding Ryan. Too much needless handbags from him on the park and plenty clowning around off the park.
Well Edinburgh can look forward to Champions cup rugby next season and a trip to sunny South Africa, where they may have a chance of progressing (albeit a slim one). It has to be be better than a trip to Limerick anyway. It’s a pity they fell away in recent weeks, particularly in the Ulster match.
Glasgow on the other hand can look forward to what could be a humiliating defeat to Leinster, particularly if the Dubliners put out a second string side.
Two teams who lie 7th and 8th in the league lets not get to carried away. One is getting better, Edinburgh, one getting worse, Glasgow. I think Wilson has to go, end of story, he has sent Glasgow backwards, changed their style of play for the worse , lost good players and seems to have an arm full of excuses non of which blame himself.
The game against Cardiff defined the season, winning easily then lost interest and ended up losing. Nothing is gelling, we struggle to find space with support runners in attendance, which was our trade mark strength. We have managed to find some good players this year Darge , Dempsey , Smith but the team as a whole is not working. The coach has to carry the can. Can a new coach make a difference, well Borthwick and Leicester is the answer to that and even Mike Blair has moved Edinburgh forward and got them playing a nice brand of rugby.
RouterAl, as you say Blair transformed Edinburgh, Cockerill needed replacing, Blair came in and has done a good job, (especially) earlier in the season Edinburgh played some superb rugby (I’d try and get VDM back)
Glasgow need to do something similar, Wilson out, new manager in.
Which Players did Wilson lose? As opposed to super Rennie?
The squad isn’t good enough, Some past their sell by date, some just not as good all round as their highlights reels are!
Blair is a good coach, learned a lot off Toonie! He also inherited a good squad and budget increase from Cockerill. As to Borthwick, he has something like 20 nEQ in his squad to push standards. I doubt you’d be in favour of that. Helps if you have the budget and no restrictions (will change of course)
Very much agree with this – for a squad of such talented individual players, they so often seem to add up to less than the sum of their parts on match day. For me, the main cause for this has to lie with the coaching.
But well done to Edinburgh – Darcy was superb straight back from injury and Bennnett continued his excellent form this season. If Edinburgh can develop another quality front row to challenge Nel and Schoeman they could really do something next season with the likes of Ritchieand Mata to return.
Well played Edinburgh, thoroughly deserved the win and the rewards/plaudits.
Interesting comments made here recently re the real value that Blair added to the Scotland setup, which is really showing through now with Edinburgh. Be good to give him the time he needs/wants to develop before at some point him being the Scotland Coach that we need.
Glasgow – got what we deserved, the petulant penalties when under pressure from a hard working Edinburgh says it all – needs a regime change incl. some of the senior players. Can’t happen soon enough, and not sure that HJones has made the right decision for his own career…..
There was a great close-up of Boffelli gathering a bouncing ball – total concentration watching it into his hands, not looking at the possible counter-attack until it’s safely gathered. Then from Boffelli’s return kick Smith does the exact opposite and knocks on, and Edinburgh score their decisive second try from the scrum. Not trying to get at Smith in particular – Glasgow were generally outplayed – but sometimes simple skills well executed really do turn matches.
74 minutes from WP, superb in the scrum and the loose. Unbelievable player.
Time for Wilson to go, he’s taken Glasgow backwards and this latest ill disciplined pperformances show that the players don’t respect him enough.
Glasgow should be moving heaven and earth to get Stuart Lancaster in as head coach, he knows how to coach a team effectively.
Mister C. Is that Ryan or Danny? I have a bit of sympathy for the coach when Ryan Wilson plays like you are in 3rd at school and seems wants to just get a rep for being a “hard man”. Glasgow’s onfield leadership is as much of an issue as coaching
Poor run in to the end of the season for Glasgow the players looked tired time to regroup for the new season, Edinburgh looking strong for next season all though the lose of Magnus Bradbury might show
Difficult to judge Glasgow, maybe the extraordinary Harley YC demonstrated a wider malaise. Quite simply with the players they have they should be better.
Edinburgh won fairly easily, when they get ball in space they can look very good. Tremendous test to look forward to in SA. Not sure Glasgow will be looking forward to their Dublin trip.
Leibstee
Carnage in Dublin in a couple of weeks, wonder what team Leinster will put out!! Closely followed by season ticket renewal try to persuade us that the Diddy Cup is a brilliant competition etc, etc. Complete overhaul of the entire backroom operation plus playing staff as this doesn’t look like a quick fix. Problem is that costs a lot if money which we don’t have or don’t have access to. To renew or not to renew that is the question