1872 Cup

1872 Cup: South African duo lead Edinburgh to derby victory

Posted on by GH-Media

Edinburgh Rugby 23 Glasgow Warriors 7

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Edinburgh Rugby winger Duhan van der Merwe scored two intercept tries from his own half to lead his side to a dominant win over rivals Glasgow Warriors on Saturday night.

Fellow South African Jaco van der Walt scored the other 13 points as the capital side triumphed 23-7 in the first 1872 Cup encounter of 2018/19 at BT Murrayfield.

Van der Merwe, the Guinness Man of the Match, said:  “I think the team played really well, I didn’t get much ball so when the chances came I had to take them.

“We are unbeaten at home this season and we are very pleased to keep that run going against our big rivals.”

The hosts got off to an encouraging start, winger Darcy Graham and centre Chris Dean both creating good openings in the first five minutes.

They continued in the ascendancy and earned a kickable penalty in the ninth minute with stand-off van der Walt put over to make it 3-0.

Four minutes later the Warriors were on the attack, but stand-off Adam Hastings pass was intercepted by van der Merwe and he scored from 65 metres out. It was converted for 10-0.

As the game entered the second quarter the visitors could not get a foothold in the game and Edinburgh’s line speed was impressive.

In the 22nd minute the home side extended the lead further to 13-0, van der Walt kicking his second penalty.

Dave Rennie’s men had to try and find a way into things, but nothing was working for them, an attacking lineout going wrong as things approached the half hour mark.

A good cross kick from Hastings nearly set-up winger Tommy Seymour soon after, but Edinburgh full-back Blair Kinghorn was there to avert the danger.

The Glasgow lifeline that got them right back into things did come in the 37th minute though.

A deft chip through by scrum-half George Horne was pounced on by his older brother Pete for a try. Hasting converted for 13-7.

The Warriors started the second half well, but in the 55th minute Edinburgh nearly scored their second try.

Centre James Johnstone went close and in stopping him Warriors captain Callum Gibbins was yellow carded for killing the ball.

Van der Walt kicked the resultant penalty for 16-7.

And some five minutes later it was 23-7, van der Merwe once again intercepting a Hastings pass in his own half before running in to score a converted effort.

Hastings was taken off straight away after that second wayward effort, Pete Horne moving to stand-off with Huw Jones coming into the centre.

Glasgow’s evening got worse with 10 minutes to go when their Canadian international winger DTH van der Merwe hobbled off with an injury.

And things ended with Edinburgh taking the bragging rights into next Saturday’s second meeting.

Stats

Edinburgh Rugby: Blair Kinghorn; Darcy Graham, James Johnstone, Chris Dean, Duhan van der Merwe; Jaco van der Walt, Henry Pyrgos; Pierre Schoeman, Stuart McInally, WP Nel, Ben Toolis, Grant Gilchrist, Luke Hamilton, Hamish Watson, Viliame Mata. Replacements: Dave Cherry, Allan Dell, Pietro Ceccerelli, Callum Hunter-Hill, Luke Crosbie, Nathan Fowles, Simon Hickey, Juan Pablo Socino.

Glasgow Warriors: Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Nick Grigg, Pete Horne, DTH van der Merwe; Adam Hastings, George Horne; Oli Kebble, Grant Stewart, Siua Halanukonuka, Rob Harley, Jonny Gray, Adam Ashe, Callum Gibbins, Matt Fagerson. Replacements: Kevin Bryce, Jamie Bhatti, D’Arcy Rae, Tim Swinson, Chris Fusaro, Ali Price, Huw Jones, Niko Matawalu.

Scorers: Edinburgh Rugby: Tries: van der Merwe (13, 61). Pens: van der Walt (9, 22, 56). Cons: van der Walt (13, 61). Glasgow Warriors: Try: P Horne (37). Con: Hastings (37).

Yellow cards: Gibbins (Glasgow Warriors, 55).

Guinness Man of the Match: van der Merwe (Edinburgh Rugby).

Referee: Mike Adamson.

Attendance: 21, 190.

Thanks to Scottish Rugby/SNS for the match images

Scottish Rugby 101 is a compendium of fascinating facts, quotes, stats, stories, personalities and trivia – perfect for all fans of Scottish rugby.

From the very first Test match in 1871 all the way through to the present day, Scottish rugby’s rich history is distilled into 101 facts, stats and stories. This entertaining volume is an instructive, if sometimes irreverent – but always affectionate – guide to some of the groundbreaking firsts, controversies, innovations, characters, achievements and disasters that have shaped the game north of the border. Whether an expert or a novice, this is the perfect companion for those who follow Scotland’s exploits on the field (and may serve as a handy distraction when things inevitably start to go pear-shaped).

Peter Burns is the author of When Lions Roared: The Lions, The All Blacks and the Epic Tour of 1971; Behind the Thistle: Playing Rugby for Scotland; White Gold: England’s Journey to World Cup Glory and Behind the Lions: Playing Rugby for the British & Irish Lions. It’s fair to say he likes rugby.

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