Glasgow edge out Edinburgh in attritional URC tie

Connor Boyle dragged Edinburgh into the game in the second half with a try but the hosts held on

Glasgow Warriors put one over on their old rivals with a narrow victory against Edinburgh at Scotstoun in the United Rugby Championship.

Edinburgh's second-half improvement was marked by Connor Boyle, holding off two players to dot down after a maul.

And two second-half penalties by stand-off Tom Jordan helped Glasgow to a first-leg lead in the 150th 1872 Cup.

You travel to these games between Scotland's big two more in hope than expectation of a game to warm the cockles. And given the weather - cold and wet in part - we could have badly done with one of those.

There have been classics between these two in the past, some real barnstormers. This, alas, wasn't among them.

The early rain mitigated against the kind of adventurous rugby that both of these sides like to play. As a result, it was more a beast than a beauty.

Edinburgh had two opportunities to go ahead early on, both with the boot, both missed by the normally infallible Emiliano Boffelli.

Neither were easy - one flying wide and the other hitting a post - but for a marksman of such unerring accuracy they were eminently kickable. You almost gawped in shock when he failed to knock them over.

From then - the second penalty coming in the 13th minute - Glasgow took over. They didn't exactly cut Edinburgh to ribbons, but they dominated them. They set up camp inside Edinburgh's 22 and forced the visitors to offend to survive.

The penalties flowed, Glasgow went to touch and at the third time of asking they went over, Dempsey going through Chris Dean to score. Horne added the conversion to make it 7-0. Points, at last.

Dean left the fray soon after when staggering to his feet following a thumping hit from Sione Tuipulotu. Dean was off and there was no messing about. It was an example on how to remove a vulnerable player from the action while also illustrating what a physically brutal sport this can be.

More Glasgow pressure and more Edinburgh penalties saw Horne put over another kick just before the break. Glasgow led by 10. The least they deserved, but an epic it was not.

Edinburgh had offered nothing in the opening 40, so if they managed to successfully put one foot in front of the other with ball in hand in the second half then it would have been an improvement.

They had much more about them early in the new half, James Lang making a clean break and giving it to the previously anonymous Duhan van der Merwe.

Had he pinned his ears back and run through contact he might have made it close to the try-line. Instead, he turned inside and the chance went. But not for long.

Edinburgh got it back, launched a lineout maul and over went Boyle. Boffelli found his magic touch with the conversion. Just three points in it now.

It was scrappy and error-ridden but it was ferociously competitive. Glasgow increased their lead when winning a scrum penalty near the Edinburgh 5m line, a decision that sparked euphoria among the home forwards. Jordan put it over.

The match-winning play came with six minutes left. Having weathered a storm and turned Glasgow over, Edinburgh got caught in possession and gave it back again.

It was Ben Muncaster who dallied, opting to hold on to ball in his own 22 instead of feeding Van der Merwe outside him. Enter big JP du Preez like a super monster truck. Du Preez hit Muncaster with a vengeance, forcing the back-row to hold on. Penalty Glasgow, put over by Jordan.

Edinburgh recovered to snatch a losing bonus point when Van der Walt fired over a late penalty from the halfway line. First blood in the 1872 Cup to Glasgow. And a continuation of a pleasing winning run.

Line-ups

Glasgow Warriors: McKay, Cancelliere, Tuipulotu, McDowall, Steyn (C), Jordan, G Horne; Bhatti, Brown, Sordoni, Manjezi, R Gray, Fagerson, Vailanu, Dempsey.

Replacements: Turner, Walker, Berghan, Du Preez, Bean, Price, Miotti.

Edinburgh: Paterson, Boffelli, Lang, Dean, Van Der Merwe, Savala, Vellacott; Schoeman, Cruse, Nel, Young, Gilchrist, Ritchie, Boyle, Mata.

Replacements: Harrison, Venter, Williams, Sykes, Muncaster, Pyrgos, Van Der Walt, Scott.

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