Stortoni says derby has all the ingredients necessary to be a Boxing Day classic

Published on Thursday 25 December 2008 19:08

IT MAY not quite be Celtic v Rangers yet, nor Boca Juniors against River Plate, but the meeting of Edinburgh and Glasgow at Murrayfield this evening has the same heady ingredients of an attractive, pulsating derby according to one player who is not out to impress the Scotland management.

Bernardo Stortoni hails from Argentina, where passions run high around sporting derbies. He lined up against Scotland in the summer, for the Pumas, and the full-back will be a potent counter-attacking threat for Glasgow tonight as they bid for a first Magners League win at the national stadium in front of a record Scottish league crowd.

The David Lloyd 1872 Cup affair has been billed as Scotland's "biggest game", initially because most of the players are clearly bigger than any in Scottish football, but the crowd could support such billing. It is still some way from the intensity and atmosphere of a football derby in either of Scotland's top cities, but tonight's clash is expected to break new ground.

A crowd of around 15,000 is expected, with many supporters recalling the excitement generated last year when the sides threw off the shackles of previous insipid meetings to run in ten tries over the two legs. Edinburgh won the first match 35-31 with a thrilling finish, Ben Cairns scoring in the dying minutes, with the help of a forward pass from his sidekick Nick De Luca, after Dan Parks seemed to have capped an amazing Glasgow comeback with a try just moments earlier.

Parks almost claimed the return at Firhill in April single-handedly, scoring all Glasgow's points in a 23-14 win, including another two tries. That performance virtually ensured his Scotland jersey for the opening Test in Argentina, and for all the talk of treating this as just another game most players will be keen to impress Frank Hadden, the Scotland coach, again.

Stortoni does not have such concerns, but he still expects more of last season's style of game than the previous years', helped by the growing interest.

The Puma international said: "Derbies are great occasions and players always look forward to them.

"Before I came here, I played for CASI (Club Atletico San Isidro) against San Isidro Club in the big derby in Argentina – we had 12,000 to watch an amateur final. Boca and River Plate is THE big (football] derby, but I have seen Glasgow and Edinburgh becoming more popular here and this will be a special experience for me and the players.

"It was a rainy day last year and we lost in the last minute, but we learned from that and we know we need to be more clinical. I know that years ago these games were more forward-orientated, players smashing each other, and not so good, but Glasgow want to play wide rugby now and we have the players to do that, and the coach believes in us, and Edinburgh are the same. They like to move the ball away from contact, and though this will be a very physical game, and very fast, on a nice pitch, with good weather, we'll be playing with ball in hand and running."

Stortoni added: "It is also very important for us because we are third in the table, and did some good things against Bath but didn't win, so it's massive for us to do well at Murrayfield and then come back to our place next week and do well."

It would seem the game is not only a showcase for talented young players. Glasgow coach Sean Lineen spoke about his hopes that young referee Neil Paterson would cope with the "constant chat" from Edinburgh's experienced players. The Irish dentist has impressed on his way up through the Scottish refereeing ranks and as well as stepping into the Magners League arena this season, he refereed the final of the IRB World Sevens Series tournament in Dubai.

His ability to be strict at the breakdown and keep the game flowing will be crucial, as quick ball is the key to the kind of entertainment conjured up last year. Cairns, the Edinburgh match-winner in 2007, clearly would like the same result, but as he prepares to face a new rival for his Scotland no13 jersey in Max Evans, in a Glasgow team this term among the title-chasers, he is astute enough to know the hosts will need to sharpen their finishing skills to achieve it.

He said: "We have not been clinical enough and we're looking to put that right against Glasgow. We were disappointed by the two Heineken Cup games against Wasps because we felt we should have won both of them, and it is about time we started winning those games and taking the chances we create.

"This game will probably be bigger and better than last year. Being a derby there's massive competition and having a cup to play for gives it extra spice. This will be an intense battle."