1872 Cup: Edinburgh need to get key duo into game or face consequences after first leg let-down

Edinburgh have lost five of their eight league games this season and find themselves mired in the mid-table log-jam in the United Rugby Championship.

They are one of five teams on 18 points and while they remain within touching distance of the top eight and the play-off positions, they are also perilously close to being dragged down into the lower reaches.

Saturday’s home fixture against Glasgow Warriors feels like a pivotal moment for the club and head coach Sean Everitt. They were comprehensively outplayed by Glasgow in the first match between the sides at Hampden last Sunday but at least the 1872 Cup scheduling gives them an early shot of redemption.

Edinburgh need to find a way to involve Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham more against Glasgow Warriors in the 1872 Cup second leg. | SNS Group

Everitt expects his team to bounce back at Murrayfield and he needs them to if they are to avoid another season of mediocrity. The coach was frank in his assessment of the 33-14 Hampden loss as he reflected on “an intense week” of training.

“The guys know that they let everyone down – their supporters, their family – and at the same time, it's really been exciting,” he said. “The boys have brought energy to training this week, as they always do. And I know that there'll be a bounce back on Saturday.”

Edinburgh’s home form has been good: big wins at Hive Stadium against Bayonne, Benetton, Cardiff and the Stormers. But, as is tradition for this fixture, they have switched the Glasgow game to Murrayfield to accommodate the 37,000-plus supporters who have helped turn this occasion into a festive staple of the Scottish sporting calendar. It means they lose some of their home advantage but they will have a far bigger support and Everitt has urged his players to feed off the energy of the crowd. Glasgow did that to good effect at Hampden where the Warriors fans turned up in numbers (27,500) and provided a level of partisan backing which Everitt later described as “hostile”.

Edinburgh's Pierre Schoeman walks off after being shown a yellow card against Glasgow Warriors at Hampden Park. | SNS Group

Hostile or not, it was no excuse for a woefully indisciplined first-half showing from Edinburgh who trailed 21-0 at the break after conceding 10 penalties and having two players sin-binned. The yellow card offenders - Pierre Schoeman and Marshall Sykes - find themselves dropped to the bench for the second leg. Asked if it was punishment for their misdemeanours, Everitt equivocated. “Yes and no,” he said. “I would like to say that they're wearing the consequences of being ill-disciplined, but there were also rugby reasons why they're on the bench.”

Boan Venter, who starts ahead of Schoeman at loosehead, certainly deserves his chance after coming off the bench and breathing new life into Edinburgh in the first leg with two late tries. Nevertheless, it seems slightly odd to axe Schoeman just a day after the coach described him as “world class” as he signed a new three-year contract. Sam Skinner replaces Sykes in the second row and will make his first league start of the season after knee issues.

There are two other changes in the pack, with Ewan Ashman missing due to a shoulder injury (“nothing too serious,” said Everitt) and Magnus Bradbury ruled out by a concussion. Dave Cherry takes over at hooker and will make his 100th Edinburgh appearance and Ben Muncaster gets the opportunity to play in his preferred No 8 role.

Everitt thinks the mistakes his team made in the first leg “are all fixable”. In short, he needs his team to remain disciplined in the face of a Glasgow onslaught and also for them to find a way of bringing Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe into the game. Graham was largely anonymous at Hampden while van der Merwe was also quiet apart from one devastating run in the second half which should have culminated in a try.

Duhan van der Merwe on the attack for Edinburgh in the 1872 Cup first leg at Hampden Park. | SNS Group

Glasgow deserve credit for keeping them quiet but there is little point in Edinburgh having two world class wingers if they never get the ball. “The more they touch the ball, the better chance we have of winning,” noted Everitt.

The coach was frustrated - and not for the first time this season - that his team kicked away possession when they had the chance to attack at Hampden. He wants them to play with intent, to have the courage to attack when afforded the opportunity, something Saturday’s opponents have proved themselves adept at under Franco Smith

“For me, it's about not being too emotional,” said Everitt. “And once again not fearing it. When I talk about fear, I'm not saying we fear Glasgow. It's about just sticking to our processes within our game model, and I felt at times we went a little bit off that.”

Edinburgh bounced back from a first leg defeat last season to win 19-14 thanks to a brilliant van der Merwe score created by Graham. If they are to prevail again they need to find a way to involve Scotland’s two all-time top try-scorers. Another heavy defeat would leave them in dangerous territory in the URC and could also have consequences for Everitt.

The teams

Edinburgh: W Goosen; D Graham, M Currie, M Tuipulotu, D van der Merwe; R Thompson, A Price; B Venter, D Cherry, D Rae, S Skinner, G Gilchrist (capt), J Ritchie, L Crosbie, B Muncaster. Replacements: P Harrison, P Schoeman, J Sebastian, M Sykes, H Watson, C Shiel, B Healy, J Lang.

Glasgow Warriors: K Rowe; S Cancelliere, H Jones, S Tuipulotu, K Steyn (capt); T Jordan, J Dobie; J Bhatti, G Hiddleston, Z Fagerson, G Brown, S Cummings, A Miller, M Fagerson, J Mann. Replacements: G Stewart, R Sutherland, S Talakai, A Samuel, R Darge, A Fraser, G Horne, D Weir.

Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU).