John Hardie scored on his inter-city debut as Edinburgh started their defence of the 1872 Cup with a 23-11 victory in front of a record-breaking attendance at BT Murrayfield. Scotland flanker Hardie’s try ten minutes from time gave Edinburgh an assailable lead, sending most of the 23,642 crowd – the biggest ever for the fixture – into raptures. It had been nip and tuck for much of the game after Matt Scott had responded to Mark Bennett’s early try, but Edinburgh’s Sam Hidalgo-Clyne chipped away and outscored Finn Russell by 13 points to six off the tee. It was left for Hardie to wrap it up and send Edinburgh into the GUINNESS PRO12’s top half at the expense of the Warriors, who slip down into seventh. Edinburgh lifted the 1872 Cup for the first time in six attempts last season but Glasgow drew first blood at BT Murrayfield after Phil Burleigh’s initial prodding and probing for the hosts. Glasgow hared up the field following some incisive play between the forwards and backs, and Scotland centre Bennett plunged over the line after Edinburgh pinged at the breakdown. Russell’s conversion attempt went astray but Edinburgh took little time to get back into it – Michael Allen securing possession for the home side after initially losing it at the line-out. That led to a bullying carry from back-rower Cornell du Preez, who treated the Glasgow line with disdain before offloading to Matt Scott for the score. Hidalgo-Clyne’s extras nosed Edinburgh ahead and the inspiration continued to come via du Preez – he nearly released Mike Coman but his pass was just a touch forward. A combination of Tom Brown and Scott helped Edinburgh make another foray into opposition territory, but the next scoring opportunity arrived on Glasgow’s doorstep following hands in the ruck. However, Bennett could not quite find the target with the penalty and when Edinburgh were presented with their own opportunity from the tee – Glasgow failing to roll away – Hidalgo-Clyne extended their lead to five. Some patient build-up play yielded nothing for the Warriors and instead Hidalgo-Clyne received another opportunity before the break, but the Scotland scrum-half missed for the first time of the day. Both sides contributed to a frantic start to the second half and Glasgow, spearheaded by wing Taqele Naiyaravoro, won a penalty in front of the posts which Russell made no mistake with. No sooner had that kick flew over, Edinburgh restored their five-point lead – Allen barging up the centre and drawing the penalty to allow Hidalgo-Clyne to respond. It remained tit for tat heading into the final quarter, Hidalgo-Clyne again racking up another penalty in answer to a Russell effort But it was the hosts who would turn the screw, as Burleigh guided the ball into the posts following a Glasgow penalty for high tackling. They were simply unstoppable at the rolling maul from the lineout –and Hardie was the beneficiary. Glasgow to their credit never gave up as they searched for a losing bonus point but Edinburgh, and in particular the impressive Brown, were equal to everything that was thrown at them in the final stages. To buy tickets for the GUINNESS PRO12 Grand Final click here. Also follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12.
