Edinburgh Rugby lift 1872 Cup

Edinburgh Rugby lifted the 1872 Cup for the first time for six years after a well-deserved victory over Glasgow Warriors in front of a Scottish Guinness PRO12 record crowd at BT Murrayfield Stadium on Friday (20-8).Some 15,810 supporters looked on as two tries from winger Tim Visser helped the capital side secure a first victory over their Scottish rivals since 2010.Glasgow opened the scoring with a Finn Russell penalty before Sam Hildalgo-Clyne replied with two kicks from the tee to move the home side into the lead.Visser grabbed the first of his brace after 25 minutes after bursting through the Glasgow line, before intercepting a wayward pass from Peter Horne.Glasgow looked threatening in the closing stages in an attempt to secure enough points for the aggregate win, but Edinburgh held on to clinch a famous victory.Edinburgh Rugby head coach Alan Solomons said post-match: “We worked a lot at the breakdown and I thought we had the edge. Our scrum was always solid but I thought it was just a fantastic team performance.”Both sides showed early attacking ambition and Edinburgh were unlucky not to bag the opening try in the first minute.A box kick from Sam Hildalgo-Clyne was left to bounce erratically by Glasgow winger Tommy Seymour, allowing Dougie Fife to gather before being stopped short of the line.Glasgow, through Finn Russell threatened in their opening attack as the fly-half collected his chip ahead to send the Edinburgh defence into disarray deep in the 22. Alas, both actions resulted in subsequent penalties to relieve the pressure.Edinburgh’s scrum struggled initially and cost them the opening score. Russell slotted a 10th minute penalty to move Glasgow ahead, before Sam Hildalgo-Clyne’s repost after 18 minutes levelled the scores at 3-3.The Edinburgh scrum-half moved his side into the lead after 25 minutes with a short range penalty after Glasgow failed to roll away from the ruck.Now with renewed vigour, Edinburgh forced their way deep into the Glasgow half, where they mounted considerable pressure.Niko Matawalu’s attempted clearance was charged down and seized upon by the home side. Edinburgh got quick ball and Greig Tonks fed winger Tim Visser who slipped through a gap to sprint over for the first try after 28 minutes.Hildalgo-Clyne slotted a superb conversion from the touchline to move the hosts 13-3 in front.Minutes later, Edinburgh had their second try of the match. A loose pass from Glasgow centre Peter Horne was intercepted by Visser who then streaked clear from his own 10m line to grab a brace after 33 minutes. Hildalgo-Clyne again added the extras to extend the lead to 20-3.Reinvigorated after the break, Glasgow started the second with urgency in abundance. Edinburgh, on the contrary, looked lethargic, and the visitors made made them pay after a kick through from scrum-half Niko Matawalu was re-gathered by the Fijian to secure the visitor’s first try in style. Russell missed the conversion keeping the score 20-8.Despite further attempts to break the Edinburgh defence, Glasgow were unable to add to their tally. Edinburgh were forced into desperate defence when Russell sliced through an open space; the fly-half looking to feed Leone Nakarawa – on for Al Kellock – but sloppy handling put an end to a promising attack.The second period desperately needed something to entertain the 15, 810 spectators at BT Murrayfield. Both sides lacked accuracy and discipline in the set piece and attacks misfired for much of the encounter.Hildalgo-Clyne was also misfiring off the tee as he squandered two opportunities to extend the lead.The final 10 minutes did little to inspire either side’s coaching staff, but Edinburgh were seldom troubled in defence. Glasgow, desperately seeking a score to secure at least a losing bonus point were found wanting as Edinburgh rebutted waves of attack.Despite a late Glasgow surge, Edinburgh clung on and ran out comfortable winners in the end. The winning margin of 12 points also ensured victory in the 1872 Cup, to the delight of a big home crowd.Attendance: 15,810