Finn Russell’s boot was the difference as Glasgow Warriors battled to victory over Edinburgh Rugby in the second leg of the 1872 Cup at Scotstoun, avenging last week’s shock loss in the capital. In a match which saw the stadium evacuated at the end of the first-half after a fire alarm, Glasgow turned in a solid second-half display against an Edinburgh side missing several big names in the pack. After the defeat at BT Murrayfield, the home side got back to winning ways in the Guinness PRO14 with a dogged defensive display as they nullified the threat of the visitors, with Russell kicking four penalties and Lee Jones adding a late try. David Rennie’s side took the lead on six minutes through Russell’s first three-pointer, but Edinburgh bounced back impressively, enjoying the lion’s share of possession and territory as the half wore on. Damien Hoyland had a try ruled out for Richard Cockerill’s men on 11 minutes after hooker Stuart McInally showed a tremendous burst of speed to hare towards the posts. However, his offload under pressure went forward, despite Hoyland finishing in the corner, and it was ruled out. Edinburgh plugged away for the rest of the half, which was cut short two minutes from the interval after the stadium was temporarily evacuated due to a fire alarm. Both teams agreed to cut that half short and play restarted at 4.30pm for the start of the second period. Russell sent another solid penalty between the posts just two minutes after the break to stretch the hosts’ lead. And while Edinburgh could not capitalise when they had possession, it was Glasgow’s forwards who grew into the game and increasingly sniffed out the danger posed by Edinburgh. The discipline of Cockerill’s side slipped in the second period – they conceded 17 penalties throughout the contest – another of which was sent flying through the posts by the clinical Russell just before the hour mark. Six minutes from time, Edinburgh were penalised for not rolling away, which allowed Russell to step up once more and take his side into double figures with a fourth kick from the tee. And Lee Jones put the icing on the cake for Rennie’s men as he crashed over after the clock had ticked into overtime, Russell missing the resulting conversion from the touchline. Guinness PRO14 Final 2018 Ticket Information: Fans can save up to 20% on selected tickets, and prices start at just €30 for adults and €5 for children, and can be booked via www.ticketmaster.ie
