Glasgow Warriors ready to call on their secret weapon for Edinburgh 1872 Cup return leg

Glasgow Warriors defeated Perpignan at BT Murrayfield earlier this month.

There was some teeth-gnashing from Glasgow’s fanbase when their European Challenge Cup match against Perpignan on December 16 was switched from their home turf at Scotstoun to BT Murrayfield due to the pitch being frozen. However, it might just have done Warriors a favour for their away fixture against Edinburgh, as they have recent experience of playing at the home of Scottish rugby and the positive memory of chalking up a victory there.

Warriors overcame their French opponents 26-18 in the capital and while the crowd for their clash against Edinburgh will be significantly higher than it was that chilly night just under two weeks ago, Glasgow fly-half Tom Jordan believes having visiting BT Murrayfield very recently will assist a team that has found away victories extremely hard to come by of late, with their only two successes on the road this season coming this month against Bath and Zebre.

"Winning away from home is so tough in this competition,” said Jordan, who kicked a penalty in the 16-10 first-leg success over Edinburgh at Scotstoun last week. “You’ve got some great teams there. We pride ourselves at home as well. To go to someone else's home patch is always tough, but we are probably lucky that we played at Edinburgh last week and learnt about their environment and how pre game works at Edinburgh. So we'll know a bit more familiar with it than going somewhere completely new.

Glasgow Warriors' Tom Jordan takes a picture with fans after the win over Edinburgh.

“Edinburgh is obviously closer, but when you are away you haven't got your own bed, you eat hotel food, it's all a bit different. But last week in Edinburgh we took it as a home game. We got there early and it was sort of our pitch. It was good to have a practice run. Here at Scotstoun, it is our bread-and-butter every week because we are at their training. When you go to somewhere new it is all a bit foreign – that's never an excuse, but it is always a bit different.

"Taking that on board I think we will be a bit more comfortable going back there because we have experienced the pre-match there and knowing where everything is. I think we will be a bit more comfortable than we would have been. We've had a bit of a run through and I'm sure the boys will be really excited. It definitely was a positive to play there.”

Jordan played the final ten minutes of the match against Perpignan and was glad to finally glean some experience of playing at such a vast arena. “It was my first time there,” he said. “I got my ten minutes at the end. I found it a bit interesting. It seems a lot more open and bigger than it really is. I think that's probably just the stadium itself. It is a great pitch and a lot of historic games been played. It was awesome to get a run around.

Edinburgh’s usual home is the far smaller DAM Health Stadium, on the grounds and in the shadows of Murrayfield, but Jordan isn’t sure if that will have an effect on the Edinburgh players. “I don't know what the crowds are looking like, but it depends on them as well,” Jordan continued. “It is such a huge stadium, which I guess is why they built the DAM Health, to have a more close-knit feeling. Murrayfield is so open that if you don't stack it out it does feel a bit empty.”

Glasgow know they will be for a tough match when they play Edinburgh on Friday.

Glasgow head along the M8 defending a slender six-point lead in the 1872 Cup. They continued their excellent home form against Edinburgh and managed to win the physical battle, while also being very accurate with their kicking. Jordan believes they have built a solid foundation for the return match.

"As a team we are trying to make a big effort on our defence all week,” he said. “I think we shut them out the game for the majority of the time. Overall, we did what we had planned. It was awesome to have the crowd out there, a full Scotstoun. It was great for the new boys to experience. Overall, it felt like a good game, but this Is a game of two halves and the next half is next week. The job is not really finished but we can build on this and take it into the next game.

“It was tough at the end. We spoke at half-time about how they would come back and get some luck and get back into the game. We knew that would happen because they are a great team. But I think we are happy with how we performed and stuck in. Overall we can only do what we can do, but we're happy with how we shut them out and we can take pride from that and build on our attack for the next game.”

Jordan, born in the New Zealand city of Auckland but Scots-qualified through residency, made his debut for Glasgow Warriors back in September after graduating from Super6 rugby with Ayrshire Bulls. His elevation to the stand-off jersey has been swift and he is enjoying a prolonged run in the team.

“I remember after my first game in Cardiff, I was upstairs for a chat and my goal for the season was just to play one game,” added Jordan. “It has been awesome to have the backing from the coaches. Every week, and just grateful to be involved. It is a great group of boys and any who miss out just worked so hard to prepare everyone else for the game. This is my first professional experience so just to be able to stack up minutes and and get experience is great. I’m really loving it.”