Magical Murrayfield in a league of its own

It was the top game of the Rugby Football League's seven-match 'Magic Weekend', where they take one round of fixtures and play it in the same location, and after a slow first half the Warriors took the Giants apart to return to the top of the table and prompt their red-and-white-bedecked fans at Murrayfield to chant: "We're going to win the league".

There is almost a sense that an alien sport has transplanted itself into Murrayfield Stadium with the 'Magic Weekend', as for all that the official stats said there were more supporters there on Saturday than were at Celtic Park or Easter Road, only a small percentage will have been native Scots.

They came from across the north of England, from London to follow Harlequins and from the south of France to see the Catalans in action. Alongside the oohs and aahs, the anthemic music and mascot races that enwrap league rugby, praise for the event and the city of Edinburgh was constant.

RFL chairman Richard Lewis insisted they did not come north to spread the gospel, but simply to continue to push creative boundaries in a way many sports could learn from. However, they would like league to spread north of the Border and ultimately for a Scottish presence in the big RFL party, following the successful launch of the Celtic Crusaders.

The Welsh side, now featuring 100-cap former union skipper Gareth Thomas, certainly played their part by proving the star turn on Saturday, kicking off the weekend with a shock 19-0 defeat of Bradford Bulls. The saltire flying in Super League remains some way off, however, with the game in Scotland still relying on the infrequent World Cup for any decent profile up against the traditional following for football and rugby union.

A more likely scenario is the establishment of a Scottish championship side to play in the tier below this and build on the success of the eight-team Scottish Rugby League Conference.

However, that is not to say this weekend extravaganza is of little benefit to Scotland and Scottish sport. The SRU will not confirm how much it earns as hosts, but it is a significant figure that it simply could not bring in from anywhere else and which is much needed while they battle against a hefty overdraft to uncover funding from usual avenues. The city of Edinburgh also benefits substantially, and not only from the two days of having around 25,000 extra visitors each day.

A family of Huddersfield Giants supporters were so taken by Scotland's capital that they are planning a quick return.

"I came to Edinburgh as a kid but I didn't realise how absolutely beautiful it was," said Rachel Scott. "The centre of Edinburgh is stunning and we are going to come back for the festival in August."

Her partner Ashley Lindsay added: "We think it's a brilliant idea by the RFL to come to Scotland. The league fans who haven't come are the ones with no imagination, but they have definitely missed out. I wish I'd known it was the big football derby here yesterday because we'd have gone to see Hibs-Hearts as well if we could have."

They enjoyed some exciting rugby over the weekend, not least in Leeds' win over Wakefield Wildcats on Saturday night, but they had come to see their beloved Huddersfield take on Wigan, and the manner in which youngsters Mark, Amelie and Tiga rattled off the team-list and who they believed would prove the match heroes revealed their passions.

The game itself was a slow burner, but the tempo lifted when Wigan loose forward Sean O'Loughlin took out Luke Robinson with a forearm smash after the Giants hooker had passed the ball away. The terrific roar of the crowd, in appreciation from the North and South Stands and anger in the East, reminded us this was league rugby.

The Giants responded, however, with second-row Lee Gilmour bursting through a gap just inside the 20 metres and beating the cover to score in the left-hand corner and only a matter of minutes passing before Wigan levelled through winger Darrell Goulding. Second-half tries from Sam Tomkins, the Wigan stand-off, Karl Pryce, George Carmont and scrum-half Thomas Leuluai took the game out of the Giants' reach and a late Earl Crabtree try was little consolation as the 28-10 win returned the Warriors to the top of the league.

But even before their team took the field, Wigan fans Paul and Jemma Greenwood were wearing broad smiles. The couple had missed out on the first 'Magic Weekend' at Murrayfield because Paul, Bombardier Greenwood, was serving in Afghanistan with the 19th Regiment, Royal Artillery, Highland Gunners. He has done two tours in Iraq and that was his second in Afghanistan with what is an Edinburgh-based regiment.

Jemma said: "It's great to have him home again and I'd have gone anywhere he wanted this weekend, but I'm glad it's Edinburgh. We're from Bolton but we are Wigan fans and the team has been going well, until last week, so we need a good result today. But overall we've had a great time in Edinburgh – the 'Magic Weekend' is a great idea. The beauty of this is that it brings so many people with the same interest together in the one place at the one time and the atmosphere is great.

"We went in for breakfast yesterday and there was a table full of Wakefield fans, and we've been chatting to people in pubs and shops all over the town who're up for the rugby."

Paul added: "Wearing the Wigan jersey I've been getting lots of local people asking me about the game, and wishing us well; it's been really friendly in Edinburgh. And the 'Magic Weekend' is really well done. When your team's not playing there is the funzone for kids, with lots going on, and plenty beer too. We've had a great weekend and I'm glad we could get here this year."

The total attendance for this weekend was down slightly on last year's event with 26,642 people at Saturday's matches, while 25,401 watched yesterday's games, bringing the total to 52,043.

The RFL is debating whether to stick with the same May date, with talk of a shift to Super League's opening weekend in February, so may not return to the Scottish capital in 2011. While most of the Scottish public may remain ambivalent, it would please the SRU and Edinburgh businesses if they did.