Glasgow Warriors 29

Edinburgh 19

THE 1872 Cup has returned to Glasgow for the first time since 2017 after Warriors’ well-deserved victory over Edinburgh on an action-packed evening at Scotstoun.

There were seven tries in all, with four for the hosts securing a bonus point triumph, while both sides had a man sent-off. Mark Bennett and Oli Kebble were both shown first-half red cards for foul play.

Bennett was dismissed for a high tackle on Ali Price just after the half-hour mark, and Kebble struck out at Henry Pyrgos shortly before half-time, leaving referee Adam Jones little option.

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The visitors dominated the opening 10 minutes, but Glasgow took an early lead thanks to a Ross Thompson penalty. A couple of minutes later, they extended their advantage when Cole Forbes hit a superb line to go over untouched. Thompson converted for 10-0.

Glasgow were given an easy exit from the restart as Duhan van der Merwe was penalised, but the decision was reversed following handbags between the wing and Glasgow captain Fraser Brown. Edinburgh went to the corner and their maul allowed Dave Cherry to burrow over. Nathan Chamberlain converted.

The hosts hit back immediately as Brown atoned for his earlier error by winning a turnover, and Fotu Lokotui stretched out to score. Thompson converted again to restore the hosts’ 10-point cushion.

Glasgow were warned about their discipline so they had no grounds for complaint when Rob Harley was sent to the sin-bin after giving away another cheap penalty at a maul.

Edinburgh capitalised on their numerical superiority immediately with their maul again the source as Pierre Schoeman marked his 27^th birthday with a try. Chamberlain converted Ince again to cut the gap to three points.

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There was further drama when Bennett was shown red following a ‘captain’s challenge’ by Brown. The officials deemed that his shoulder had made contact with Price’s chin, and although there was clearly no intent there was only one sanction permissible by the letter of the law.

The hosts were then dealt a blow when Edinburgh used a ‘challenge’ to review a clash between Kebble and Pyrgos, which resulted in the Scotland’s prop’s elbow swinging into the side of the scrum-half’s head. Once again, red was the outcome.

Under the law variations which are being trialled during this Rainbow Cup campaign, that meant both players would not be allowed to return to the match but could be replaced after their respective sides had played the next 20 minutes with 14 men.

With the clock two minutes into the red, Glasgow scored a third try as Brown drove over. Edinburgh challenged the call, but Jones decided that Thomas Lambert had not obstructed Jamie Ritchie, and the try stood. Thompson converted to make it a 24-14 at the break.

Glasgow lost Scott Cummings – who took an accidental knee to the head from Bill Mata – within 30 seconds of the restart, but kept their composure and crossed for a fourth try seven minutes later.

From a free-kick at a five-metre scrum, Price went quickly before the ball was sent wide to Kyle Steyn, who marked his first Scotstoun appearance since February 2020 with a try to seal the bonus point.

The harum-scarum theme of the evening continued when Glasgow found themselves once again on the wrong end of a series of penalties, which led to Stuart McInally, just off the bench for his first appearance after four months out injured, sneaking over. Chamberlain couldn’t convert.

Edinburgh threw everything at their hosts in the final quarter, but were unable to find a way through a resolute Glasgow defensive effort, which persisted despite the loss of Richie Gray to a yellow card for collapsing a maul.

Even when McInally thought he had a second try, Ratu Tagive was on hand to hold up the former Scotland captain.

Teams –

Glasgow Warriors: C Forbes; R Tagive (T Lambert 39-59)), N Grigg, S McDowall, K Steyn (N Matawalu 65); R Thompson (P Horne 65), A Price; O Kebble, F Brown (G Turner 60), Z Fagerson (E Pieretto 71), R Harley, S Cummings (R Gray 41), F Lokotui, T Gordon (K McDonald 58), R Wilson.

Edinburgh: D Hoyland; E Sau, M Bennett (J Johnstone 53), G Taylor, D van der Merwe; N Chamberlain, H Pyrgos (C Shiel 63); P Schoeman, D Cherry (S McInally 46), W Nel, J Hodgson, G Gilchrist (M Sykes 60), J Ritchie (M Kunavula 40), L Crosbie, V Mata.

Scorers –

Glasgow Warriors: Tries: Forbes, Lokotui, Brown, Steyn; Cons: Thompson 3; Pen: Thompson.

Edinburgh: Tries: Cherry, Schoeman, McInally; Cons: Chamberlain 2.

Scoring sequence (Glasgow first): 3-0, 8-0, 10-0; 10-5, 10-7; 15-7, 17-7, 17-12, 17-14, 22-14, 24-14 (h-t) 29-14, 29-19

Yellow cards –

Glasgow Warriors: Harley (28mins), Gray (72mins)

Red cards –

Glasgow Warriors: Kebble (38mins)

Edinburgh: Bennett (33mins)

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