Glasgow Warriors at Hampden: New date, time and venue for 1872 Cup and appeal to Warrior Nation
Glasgow Warriors have confirmed they will play the first leg of their 1872 Cup match against Edinburgh at Hampden Park.
The game will be played at the 52,000-capacity national football stadium on Sunday, December 22 at 3pm, a day later than originally scheduled.
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Hide AdThe Warriors hope that moving the fixture from their home at Scotstoun will boost the attendance significantly. Edinburgh play their home leg of the 1872 Cup at Murrayfield, rather than Hive Stadium, and a record crowd of 37,904 attended last year's match.
Scotstoun, with a capacity of 7,300, sells out for the inter-city match which is one of the oldest fixtures in world rugby.
“This is a massive moment in the history of not just our club, but rugby within our city and our Glasgow Warriors community,” said Al Kellock, the Glasgow Warriors MD.
“To be able to take one of our biggest games of the season to one of Scotland’s national stadia is a reflection of the journey that we have been on as a club, as we continue to grow the game in our city, the west of Scotland and Caledonia regions.
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Hide Ad“It’s a journey that has seen the Warrior Nation follow us through thick and thin; from the club grounds across Scotland that shape our Warriors, to the high veldt in Pretoria where we became URC champions. To be able to take this fixture to Hampden is a reflection of the support upon which this club is built, and we know that our supporters will make Hampden an atmosphere unlike any other.
“We’re excited by the opportunity this fixture presents, not only on the field but off it as well – we also hope to welcome a new audience that may otherwise not attend a Glasgow Warriors match, especially in the run-up to the festive holidays.
“I’d like to thank everyone involved in making this fixture happen, from our friends at the Scottish FA, Scottish Rugby, United Rugby Championship and Premier Sports, to the efforts of everyone involved at Scotstoun.
“Our ask to the Warrior Nation is to now make this as big an occasion as we possibly can – I firmly believe that we have earned the opportunity through our performances over the last season, to show our club, our values and our players to a new audience on one of Scotland’s biggest stages. We know that Glasgow is not just a football city – let’s show that to the world.”
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Hide AdGlasgow Warriors have never before played at Hampden before but the stadium has staged international rugby.
Scotland played South Africa there in 1906 because no rugby ground was big enough to satisfy the demand to see the touring team. Hampden was a venue for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, with South Africa playing Uruguay in a pool match. Scotland also played Romania in a warm-up fixture before the tournament. The most recent rugby at Hampden was the autumn international between Scotland and Australia in November 2004 which the Aussies won 31-17 in front of 28,400 supporters.
Kyle Steyn, the Glasgow captain, said: “It’s such an exciting opportunity – derby matches are already the type of fixture that you want to be involved in as a player, so to have the chance to run out at an iconic Glasgow venue is extremely special.
“Having our own ‘big game’ concept is an outstanding reflection of the support that this club has year in, year out – they get behind us wherever we are, and they give us that extra edge time and again.
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Hide Ad“We know that 1872 Cup atmospheres are always electric, and I can’t wait to see and hear the buzz that the Warrior Nation will create at Hampden.”
The 1872 Cup matches form part of Edinburgh's and Glasgow’s United Rugby Championship season but a standalone trophy is awarded to the team that comes out on top on aggregate over the two inter-city matches. Glasgow are the holders after defeating Edinburgh 22-10 at Scotstoun in the first leg last year then losing 19-14 at Murrayfield in the second leg. This year’s second leg will be played at Murrayfield on December 28.
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