Rory Darge expects 1872 Cup excitement and reveals novelty factor behind facing Edinburgh

Expect excitement in 1872 Cup, says Darge

Glasgow Warriors flanker Rory Darge will face his former Edinburgh team-mates in the 1872 Cup. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

While Glasgow and Edinburgh have often had contrasting fortunes in recent seasons, both teams go into Friday’s first 1872 Cup clash of the season with their confidence high thanks to identical records of five wins from seven games in the URC.

And Warriors flanker Rory Darge, for one, believes that means we will see an open and enterprising contest between two teams who are determined to impose their own pattern on proceedings.

“People always get worried these games might be quite cagey, because we know each other quite well,” the former Edinburgh forward said. “But I don’t think that will be the case. I think it will just be us both trying to put our games on to the pitch and see what happens.

“I’m sure these games will be competitive, because two good sides are both going fairly well - and we have similar ways but also very different styles of play.”

If he is selected for the match at Scotstoun, Darge himself will certainly feel a real novelty value about it. The Scotland international has only played once against his old team since moving west in mid-2021, so has more experience of playing alongside some of his Edinburgh rivals than he does of competing against them. And of course he will be up against Ali Price, the scrum-half who will be playing against his parent club for the first time since his season-long loan to Edinburgh.

“I’ve actually only ever played Edinburgh once, in my first start for Glasgow,” Darge continued. “It will be a bit of a weird one playing against Ali - a first for a lot of the boys here.

“And it will be a weird one playing against Hamish Watson. I’ve never played him, I don’t think – I’ve played with him, in Argentina and in a couple of Six Nations games.

“I don’t think I’ve played Jamie Ritchie either. So it’s a first for me in a lot of ways.”

The two Cup games double up as URC matches, and while winning silverware would be nice, Darge is adamant that points are the priority. “Everything else that comes after it is nice, but the most important thing is those league points. It’s massive for the rest of our season.”