Edinburgh moved up to second in the Magners League table and put one hand on the David Lloyd 1872 Cup ahead of next weekend’s return meeting as tries from Mike Blair, Simon Webster, Hugo Southwell and Ben Cairns saw them to a comprehensive Boxing Day win over Glasgow Warriors. Fly-half Phil Godman almost matched the try tally with a kicking contribution of 19 points – five penalty goals and two conversions – as Edinburgh motored clear of Glasgow in the second half, continuing the trend of the home team winning this particular Scottish duel. Indeed, this was the tenth successive encounter between these old rivals that went the way of the home side on the day. Edinburgh’s 33-point success, coupled with Cardiff’s earlier win at the Dragons, means the Magners League table is particularly tight ahead of the weekend’s matches – there are now just six points separating the Blues in ninth place (15 points) and Edinburgh in second position (21 points). This inter-city tie brought a Magners League record crowd of 12,534 to Murrayfield and there was plenty of individual battles, with a number of Scotland’s Six Nations hopefuls lining up against each other, to whet the appetite. Edinburgh coach Andy Robinson made four changes to the team he chose for the recent European visit to London Wasps. Ross Ford came back in at hooker, after recovering from a rib injury, and prop Gavin Kerr, flanker Ross Rennie and winger John Houston were also re-introduced. Geoff Cross failed a late fitness test on an ankle knock so Kyle Traynor provided front row cover on the replacements bench. Glasgow, the 1872 Cup holders, made six alterations – one positional – to the team that started the European clash with Bath at Firhill a fortnight ago. Hooker Dougie Hall, who had shaken off concussion, and prop Ed Kalman, who was preferred to Moray Low, bolstered the the visitors’ front row, while regular captain Alastair Kellock returned in the back row. Behind the scrum, Graeme Morrison, who was sidelined for Scotland’s November Tests due to a knee injury, returned to line up alongside Max Evans in midfield. Minus the services of Lome Fa’atau (fractured shinbone), Glasgow boss Sean Lineen switched Hefin O’Hare over to the right wing with Thom Evans stationed on the left. Wearing an eye-catching limited edition kit, quite similar to Stade Francais’ style of strips, Edinburgh took a third minute lead after the Glasgow forwards infringed at a ruck. Kicking for goal in the absence of Chris Paterson, number 10 Godman found his range with a crisp shot. His opposite number Dan Parks missed an immediate chance to reply but he found the target on 9 minutes to square things up. After a nervy opening, Glasgow seemed to be settling and they failed to capitalise on some good work from their pack when Parks sent a 16th-minute penalty wide of the mark. Godman nudged Edinburgh back in front, firing over from distance after Glasgow hooker Hall was penalised for a scrum offence. The hosts were beginning to take their scoring chances and they moved 16-3 ahead within an enterprising four-minute spell. Their captain Mike Blair got the ball rolling when he intercepted a poor Parks pass, which he gathered on the bounce, and the scrum half darted away from the cover to cross the whitewash. Godman converted and after runs from Craig Hamilton and Ben Cairns carved out another penalty chance, he put 13 points between the sides. Glasgow had a near miss when flanker John Barclay knocked on with the try line in sight but they did reduce the arrears to 16-6 just before half-time when Parks bisected the posts for his second penalty success. After a number of ruck infringements from both sides, Edinburgh flanker Scott Newlands was yellow carded by match referee Neil Paterson four minutes before the break. However, Glasgow could not capitalise on their numerical advantage and were left frustrated when Paterson, after asking for the assistance of television match official Jim Yuille, ruled out a try-scoring effort from Warriors number 6 Kelly Brown. An up-and-under from Parks had Edinburgh winger Houston under all sorts of pressure. Brown was right in there under the dropping ball and on first view, looked to have got the touchdown. Lineen’s men had started the second half in slick fashion but their competitiveness waned after missing out on that try and the incident seemed to knock the wind out of their sails. Edinburgh took full advantage and restored to 15 men, they moved 23-6 ahead when a reverse pass from Godman put winger Simon Webster sprinting through a gap and over for a seven-pointer. With their direct running and renewed attacking style causing plenty of problems, Edinburgh pressed Glasgow into further errors and two more penalties from Godman stretched the home side’s lead. With their third successive league win in little doubt now, Robinson’s charges killed off the Glasgow challenge and notched a welcome bonus point with two more tries. Full-back Hugo Southwell, whose all-action display earned him the man-of-the-match honour, barged his way past Max Evans, brilliantly straightening the Edinburgh attacking line to dot down in the 58th minute. Godman missed the conversion and only some committed defending by Glasgow close to their line prevented Southwell from quickly registering his second try. Try as they might, Glasgow struggled for possession and territory in the final quarter as they fell off the boil. Edinburgh’s persistence paid off as they attacked from deep and although they had a slice of luck for their fourth and final try, with a loose pass coming back on their side, it was a deserved score. The powerful running of Southwell provided the thrust again and centre Ben Cairns was up in support to take the pass and weave over to the left of the posts. Replacement David Blair missed the conversion but it did not matter. It is very much ‘advantage Edinburgh’ ahead of the sides’ rematch at Firhill Arena next Friday.
