Mike Blair: Edinburgh Rugby coach makes Glasgow Warriors admission and identifies turning point in 1872 Cup defeat

Edinburgh Rugby head coach Mike Blair accepted his team had not done enough to deserve anything out of the game after they went down 30-17 to Glasgow at Scotstoun on Friday night.

Glasgow's Josh McKay (L) celebrates scoring a try with Tom Gordon during a United Rugby Championship match between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby at Scotstoun Stadium, on March 18, 2022, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Blair had hoped for a morale-boosting win before his team head off to South Africa for two URC games, but although a 13-point deficit with the second leg of the 1872 Cup still to come is by no means insuperable, he felt his players had been some way below their best.

“Glasgow were really good in the first half and put a lot of pressure on us,” Blair said. “We gave them a few easy ins to the game through ill discipline.

“I was really pleased just after half-time with how we fought our way back into the game. I thought we were starting to take a grip on the game, but then the turnover try by Josh McKay – which I thought was brilliantly taken – was a little bit of a killer for us.

“It’s a shame we didn’t get something out of it. We’re disappointed. I would have loved it if we had finished this mini-block of games with a good performance. We wanted the win obviously, but also a really good performance, and I don’t think we got that tonight.”

Warriors assistant coach Pete Murchie, meanwhile, was impressed by the patience and persistence shown by his players. “At the start of the second half we gave them an avenue back into the game, but we were pleased with the reaction off the back of that,” he said. “The pleasing thing is we stuck in, we found a way, and we wrestled back control of the game.

“We’re happy with the work this group of players has put on over this period of time. We’re in a good place in the league, we’ve got a bit of momentum behind us, and now we welcome back our international players.”

It was confirmed on Friday that the second and final leg of this year’s Cup will take place at BT Murrayfield on Saturday 21 May. Kick-off for the match, which is also the last regular-season fixture in the URC, will be at 6.30pm.