Glasgow Warriors better Edinburgh Rugby in every department at Hampden - the score flattered visitors

This was billed as Glasgow Warriors’ “biggest ever home game” and at one point it looked as if it might also be their largest win in the fixture.

They embraced the switch to Hampden with gusto and were miles ahead of Edinburgh in every department. They led 33-0 with 16 minutes remaining before two late Boan Venter tries for the visitors took a little of the gloss off.

The final score was 33-14 and, in truth, that flattered Edinburgh. They couldn’t make any inroads into the Glasgow defence and they were also indisciplined, particularly in the first half as they conceded a slew of penalties and had Pierre Schoeman and Marshall Sykes yellow carded for needless infringements.

Jamie Dobie scores Glasgow Warriors' fifth and final try in the 33-14 win over Edinburgh. | SNS Group

By contrast, Glasgow were as good as we expected them to be. They were without some key players, notably Rory Darge and Josh McKay, but you wouldn’t have known it. They scored five tries and it could have been more. Sione Tuipulotu was excellent, eclipsing his younger brother Mosese, and there was notable performances from Huw Jones and Kyle Steyn, both of whom scored. Johnny Matthews weighed in with a double and replacement Jamie Dobie also touched down.

The vast majority of the record 27,538 crowd will have gone home happy and the decision to move the 1872 Cup first leg to the national football stadium can be considered a success. It was windy and wild out there but Glasgow’s rugby public turned out in numbers three days before Christmas. Let's hope this becomes a regular thing.

It took Glasgow less than six minutes to pierce the Edinburgh defence and the opening try-scorer was a familiar thorn in the side of the capital side. A clever chip through by Jones had put the home side under pressure as Darcy Graham was choke-tackled on his own line. Scrum and scrum penalty followed, allowing the Warriors to kick to the corner. The first lineout didn’t bear fruit but the second one did and Matthews was at the bottom of the driving maul for his third try in three games against Edinburgh.

Edinburgh needed to keep their discipline but they didn’t and Schoeman was sent to the sin-bin. The prop crashed into the back of Gregor Brown’s head in a ruck and was fortunate it was only yellow. It wasn’t what Edinburgh needed and they conceded the second try almost immediately, Tom Jordan capitalising at the breakdown and offloading for Jones to score.

Down to 14 men and losing 14-0, it was an abject opening 12 minutes for Edinburgh.

Glasgow were making all the running and Edinburgh were conceding penalty after penalty - nine in the first half alone. The wind wasn’t conducive to sparkling rugby but Glasgow were playing the conditions well, keeping it simple and making impressive territorial gains. They pinned Edinburgh back in their own 22 and the third try came in the 27th minute. It was another lineout drive, and Matthews was again the finisher. Horne’s third successful conversion made it 21-0 and just as Schoeman returned to the fray, Edinburgh again found themselves short-handed when Sykes was sin-binned for a high tackle on Kyle Rowe.

The attendance of 27,538 at Hampden was a record for a Glasgow Warriors home game. | SNS Group

Glasgow increased their lead 90 seconds into the second half, securing the bonus point in the process. Steyn, playing his first game in three months, finished in the corner after Sione Tuipulotu’s miss-pass.

Duhan van der Merwe had barely touched the ball in the opening 40 minutes but he exploded into life after the fourth Glasgow try. A mazy run from halfway looked like it would take him all the way but Horne hauled him down with a magnificent tackle. Van der Merwe was still able to offload to Ali Price but the scrum-half fumbled under pressure from Steyn and the chance was gone.

Glasgow Warriors' Johnny Matthews celebrates after scoring his second try of the game. | SNS Group

Edinburgh looked to the bench in a bid to change the narrative but Glasgow were rampant and it was Warriors’ replacement Dobie who scored their fifth try after fine work by Scott Cummings. Horne’s conversion made it 33-0 and it looked as if a record score might be on the cards but Edinburgh finally gave their travelling supporters something to cheer with two tries in the final seven minutes. Venter, the replacement prop, scored them, both from tap penalties close to the line.

Healy converted them to at least give Edinburgh the consolation of winning the second half. They host the Warriors at Murrayfield on December 28 in the second leg and it’s hard to see them turning this around.

Scorers: Glasgow Warriors: Tries: Matthews 2, Jones, Steyn, Dobie. Cons: Horne 4. Edinburgh: Tries: Venter 2. Cons: Healy 2.

Yellow cards: Schoeman (Edinburgh, 12min), Sykes (Edinburgh, 29min); Schickerling (Glasgow 77min).

Glasgow Warriors: K Rowe; S Cancelliere, H Jones, S Tuipulotu, K Steyn (J Dobie 57); T Jordan (D Weir 74), G Horne; J Bhatti (R Sutherland 48), J Matthews (G Hiddleston 48), Z Fagerson (P Schickerling 57), G Brown (A Samuel 57), S Cummings, A Miller, M Fagerson (A Fraser 62; G Stewart 74), J Mann.

Edinburgh: W Goosen; D Graham, M Currie, M Tuipulotu (J Lang 70), D van der Merwe; R Thompson (B Healy 52), A Price (C Shiel 62); P Schoeman (B Venter 60), E Ashman (D Cherry 52), D Rae (J Sebastian 52), M Sykes (S Skinner 52), G Gilchrist, J Ritchie, L Crosbie (B Venter 19-22; B Muncaster 52), M Bradbury (L Crosbie 74).

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU).

Attendance: 27,538