Glasgow Clinch 1872 Cup

Glasgow Warriors clinched the 1872 Cup with a 17-12 victory over Edinburgh Rugby at Firhill tonight.  Following last week's 23-23 draw at Murrayfield, Glasgow deserved the victory in what was a hard fought and rugged match that lacked any sort of flair.

The first half saw Glasgow edge the possession and dominate the set piece, particularly the scrum where Moray Low was superb at tighthead.  Richie Gray was a nuisance throughout at the lineout and carried well.  Chris Cusiter kept the momentum going forward despite two poor box kicks that went straight into touch after being passed to him from outside the 22.

But the star of the show for Glasgow was Chris Fusaro who was excellent at the breakdown, causing havoc on the ground and forcing Edinburgh into mistakes that ultimately led to a 9-3 lead at halftime through 3 penalty conversions from an average Duncan Weir and one in reply from Phil Godman.

Chris Fusaro was outstanding for Glasgow

Edinburgh came out in the second half and dominated possession and territory as Glasgow struggled to get out of their own half for just over 20 minutes.  Godman converted two penalties and missed another to see the scores go level at 9-9 before Glasgow broke up the pitch, resulting in Matt Scott being sin-binned for an illegal tackle on Rob Harley.

Substitute fly half Scott Wight kicked to touch and Richie Grays take at the lineout secured a platform from which the Glasgow forwards powered forward, carrying Moray Low and the ball over the line.  The try went to the TMO but there was no clear evidence of the ball being grounded.  Benefit of the doubt was given to Glasgow and the try awarded.  Wight missed the conversion narrowly.

Glasgow had their tails up from this point and a great take from captain Al Kellock from the restart again gave impetus for the Glasgow backs to run at Edinburgh, with Stuart Hogg and Peter Murchie showing glimpses of their attacking threat.  Wight converted another penalty before missing a further chance.

With 5 minutes to go and the score at 17-9, Glasgow had to keep it tight but instead gave some silly penalties away, allowing Edinburgh up the pitch to push for a chance at claiming a bonus point.  Sure enough, after sustained pressure and 90 seconds beyond the 80 minute mark, Phil Godman dug out an ugly drop goal that sneaked over the bar off the upright to claim a crucial 3 points.

All in all, a well deserved victory after domination at the set piece and for such a determined effort at Murrayfield by Glasgow the previous week.  Al Kellock lifted the 1872 Cup which Glasgow has now won 4 times in the last 5 seasons.

More importantly, it maintains Glasgow's unbeaten run in the league and sees them continue their hunt for a playoff place.