Duhan van der Merwe wonder-try wins match for Edinburgh but Glasgow Warriors lift 1872 Cup

Record crowd treated to gripping game of rugby sealed by fine score

They turned up in record numbers and were rewarded with a thrilling game of rugby which was won by a wonder try from Duhan van der Merwe.

If last week’s first leg at Scotstoun was a little on the attritional side, the return at Murrayfield was anything but. In a game of ebb and flow, Edinburgh came from behind to win 19-14 to leave the majority of the bumper 37,904 crowd happy. Glasgow Warriors had the not insignificant consolation of retaining the 1872 Cup, winning 36-29 on aggregate, but looked rather glum-faced as they lifted the trophy in the emptying stadium.

It was the highest ever attendance for an Edinburgh home match, surpassing the 37,881 that watched their Heineken Cup quarter-final win over Toulouse in 2012. The crowd was swollen by a large Glasgow travelling support and their team seemed to be in the ascendancy for most of the match. The led early through Johnny Matthews’ tenth URC try of the season, then regained the lead in the second half through Stafford McDowall. But Edinburgh were never far behind. Matt Currie’s first half try kept them in touch, as did the boot of Ben Healy, and in van der Merwe they had the game’s outstanding performer. His 71st-minute try saw him run 70 metres after brilliant work at the breakdown by Darcy Graham. The two wingers recently signed lucrative new contracts with Edinburgh and have quickly repaid the faith the club has shown them.

Things didn’t start well for Edinburgh who found themselves under the pump from the kick-off. There was confusion in the home ranks as they tried to field it and Glasgow swarmed forward, with Josh McKay and then Ally Miller going dangerously close.

The visitors had all the momentum and there was a feeling of inevitability when they claimed the game’s first try after three-and-a-half minutes, more so given the nature of the score and the identity of the scorer. A penalty allowed Tom Jordan to kick to the corner and Miller claimed the lineout to set up the driving maul. Matthews – who else? – was on the end of it, shoved over the line by Rory Darge and Zander Fagerson. It was textbook stuff from Glasgow and George Horne added the conversion.

Edinburgh, who had barely drawn breath, were now 19 points behind on aggregate. They needed a lift and began feeling their way into the game, putting together some decent passing phases, with van der Merwe looking eager to be involved. A brilliant break by Healy took them up to the Glasgow line, Josh McKay stopping the home stand-off in his tracks after he had evaded Jordan. Edinburgh recycled and Pierre Schoeman tried to find van der Merwe in the corner only for Huw Jones to cut out his looping pass.

It was a decent spell from Sean Everitt’s side but they had nothing to show for it and Glasgow came swarming back as the game raged from end to end. It was breathless stuff and enough to warm the cockles on a freezing afternoon. The Edinburgh coach had spoken before the match about trying to get his wingers into the game more than had happened in the first leg. Van der Merwe was lively in the opening skirmishes and Graham was instrumental in Edinburgh’s try in the 26th minute. The Hawick man had been stopped by McKay out on the right wing but took a quick tap penalty and the ball was moved swiftly across the field. Glasgow didn’t have time to regroup and Mark Bennett delivered the killer pass for his centre partner Currie to score in the corner.

Emiliano Boffelli (no.23) celebrates as Edinburgh's Duhan van der Merwe scores what turns out to be the match-winning try against Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield. (Photo by Simon Wootton / SNS Group)

Healy couldn’t convert but Edinburgh’s tails were up and Bill Mata charged forward, roared on by the home supporters. Glasgow held firm and gradually regained control. They ended the half on top, winning penalties in the Edinburgh 22 and working the lineout drive but the home side didn’t crumble.

Just like they did in the first leg, Edinburgh began the second half brightly. They won successive penalties in the Glasgow 22 and opted to kick to the corner on both occasions. But their linenout was sloppy and they came away empty-handed. On their next incursion into the Warriors danger zone they opted to take the points after Jones was penalised for not rolling away. Healy’s successful kick put Edinburgh 8-7 ahead, the first time in the match they had been in front, and they came close to extending their lead after a lightning break from van der Merwe. The supporting Price matched him stride for stride and then offloaded to Glen Young who was well tackled by McKay. Ashman took it on but Glasgow’s defence was resolute. It came at cost, though, with Rory Darge going off with a knee injury, a real cause for concern for club and country.

Given the pressure Edinburgh had exerted, Glasgow will have felt relieved to have escaped with the loss of only three points and they quickly turned the table on their hosts with their second try of the match, scored by McDowall. Sione Tuipulotu took the ball into contact then offloaded to the centre who burst through three tackles to score. Horne’s conversion had Glasgow 14-8 up going into the final quarter but Healy chipped away at that with his second penalty of the match.

Edinburgh were now within three points and in van der Merwe they had the match-winner supreme. The winger had been dangerous throughout but his 71st try was breathless stuff. Graham deserves a large dollop of credit, winning a superb turnover in his own 22, then passing to van der Merwe whose jet-heeled run left a trail of light blue jerseys in his wake. It was a try worthy of winning any game and although Healy missed the conversion, he added a late penalty to extend Edinburgh’s lead to 19-14.

Glasgow Warriors lifted the 1872 Cup despite defeat by Edinburgh at Murrayfield.

Glasgow tried desperately to find a way back. Matthews limped back on to replace George Turner and then Edinburgh replacement Marshall Sykes was yellow-carded for a high tackle on Horne. But there was no way through and it was the home fans who were able to celebrate the win if not the trophy presentation.

Scorers: Edinburgh: Tries: Currie, van der Merwe. Pens: Healy 3. Glasgow Warriors: Tries: Matthews, McDowall. Cons: Horne 2.

Yellow card: Sykes (Edinburgh, 80min)

Edinburgh: W Goosen (E Boffelli 70); D Graham, M Bennett, M Currie, D van der Merwe; B Healy, A Price (B Vellacott 60); P Schoeman (B Venter 62), E Ashman (D Cherry 62), WP Nel (D Rae 77), G Young (M Sykes 58), G Gilchrist, L Crosbie, J Ritchie (H Watson 60), V Mata. Replacement not used: C Scott.

Glasgow Warriors: J McKay; H Jones, S Tuipulotu (capt), S McDowall, K Rowe (B Afshar 60); T Jordan (R Thompson 63), G Horne; J Bhatti (N McBeth 53), J Matthews (G Turner 53-80), Z Fagerson (O Kebble 60-73), S Cummings, R Gray (G Peterson 53), T Gordon (M Williamson 53), R Darge (H Venter 54), A Miller.

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU).

Attendance: 37,904.