'It's special': Glasgow Warriors make Hampden plea as Edinburgh Rugby believe they can still win 1872 Cup

Franco Smith hopes playing the 1872 Cup at Hampden can become an annual fixture after Glasgow Warriors supporters turned out in force to see their team beat Edinburgh 33-14 in the first leg.

It is the first time in the pro era that the club have played at the national football stadium and the attendance of 27,538 was a record for a Glasgow home game. They were treated to a convincing 33-14 victory for the Warriors who ran in five tries through Johnny Matthews (two), Huw Jones, Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie. George Horne converted four of them.

At one stage Glasgow led 33-0 and looked to be on course for a record victory in the 1872 Cup but Edinburgh scored two late tries through Boan Venter, both converted by Ben Healy, to reduce the margin of victory to 19 points ahead of the second leg at Murrayfield on Saturday.

A crowd of 27,538 was at Hampden to see Glasgow Warriors play Edinburgh in the first leg of the 1872 Cup. | SNS Group

Asked what he made of the Hampden experience, Glasgow head coach Smith said: “Fantastic. I stood down there and said to the boys, every player, every person that bought a ticket came. There were 28,000 there. It looked [almost] completely full, shoulder to shoulder.

“It's a big compliment to the commercial side, the way this was set up. But to the people that followed us, the Warrior Nation specifically, I thought it was fantastic. They will not know how much this means to the team to represent that support.”

Smith would now like to see Glasgow play Edinburgh at Hampden every year. “I hope so,” said the coach. “I would sincerely hope so. I think it's special. I think it's a special event. I hope the public experience it the same way as we did.”

Smith said he was “a little annoyed” at the concession of two tries in the final seven minutes. “We switched off a little bit. But it also proves that Edinburgh are a very good team,” said the coach.

“I think the biggest thing for me is that we're becoming a little bit more consistent. I hope we can roll out another performance. I thought we were good against Toulon. We were very good against Sale. At the set-piece, I thought the way we adapted [was very good]. The way Edinburgh defended, they're a physical team and they tried to disrupt us there. Then obviously our ability to play with the ball in hand is second to none.

“But our defence, to take their opportunities away, is probably the thing that stands out for me.”

Sean Everitt, the Edinburgh coach, rued his side’s indiscipline which saw forwards Pierre Schoeman and Marshall Sykes yellow-carded in the first half.

Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith, left, with his assistant Nigel Carolan before the match at Hampden. | SNS Group

“During the week we spoke about being disciplined and how important it was. And we certainly didn't deliver in that department,” said Everitt. “Conceding 10 penalties and two yellow cards in the first 40 minutes, you're never going to have a chance.

“I can't answer for the players who made those misdemeanours, but it’s pressure as well. Glasgow are good with ball in hand. They've got speed of ball, and sometimes they trap you offside. I think we've just got to be better in that regard.

“Pierre Schoeman's yellow card, Marshall Sykes' high tackle, those are individual errors. So we'll address those. That happens in a game of rugby, especially when you're under the pump and you're defending for periods of time.”

Everitt still believes Edinburgh claw back the deficit in the second leg and win back the 1872 Cup on aggregate.

“We know we're a better team than we were tonight,” said the coach. “And this team have shown before that after a loss, they bounce back pretty strongly. So we'd expect the same thing.

“We were able to score two tries in the last 10 minutes. And if we’re able to put ourselves in those positions, close to the opposition tryline, more often, then there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to do it.”