Sione Tuipulotu v Mosese and why sibling rivalry is a metaphor for Edinburgh Rugby-Glasgow Warriors 1872 Cup

Kyle Steyn describes the relationship between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh as being akin to “a sibling rivalry” but the real thing will be taking place on the pitch at Hampden on Sunday when the Tuipulotu brothers collide.

Christmas is usually a time when families come together but feelings of kinship will be set aside for 80 minutes at least in the first leg of the 1872 Cup. Sione Tuipulotu, the Glasgow centre, is coming up against younger bro Mosese for the first time following the latter’s move to Edinburgh in the summer.

Both will wear the 12 jersey at Hampden so expect plenty of direct competition and Steyn is looking forward to a bit of sledging between the pair.

Brothers Sione, left, and Mosese Tuipulotu, right, with their grandmother Jaqueline Thomson. The pair will be up against each other when Glasgow play Edinburgh. | SNS Group / SRU

“We’ve said all week the focus is on us and what we want to do but there's no doubt that these boys are going to have plenty of strings to pull on,” said Steyn, who is making his first appearance since fracturing his fibula against Benetton in September. “I've got no doubt that both Sione and Ses are going to pull on that string. So, I'm quite interested to be out there and looking forward to it to hear what gets said, to be honest.”

Like all big brothers, Sione will be determined to not let junior get one over on him. The Scotland captain is at the peak of his powers at the moment, for both club and country, and is likely to set the emotional tone for the Warriors on Sunday. But Mosese is coming on to a game at Edinburgh, his form won him a call-up to the Scotland squad for the autumn Tests and he played in the A international against Chile.

The battle of the brothers is just one strand to this always absorbing festive clash which is being played at Hampden for the first time. Steyn got a taste of the stadium last month when he attended Scotland v Croatia last month and was blown away by the atmosphere as John McGinn netted a late winner.

“It's cracking when it's full,” said the Glasgow skipper. “I went to the Scotland-Croatia game and it was just amazing. It's so different to Murrayfield and I think that's why it was cool to experience it. Even just the way the anthem gets sung, it's just different.

Mosese Tuipulotu celebrates his try in Edinburgh's recent Challenge Cup win over Aviron Bayonnais. | SNS Group

“It was quiet first off and then it kind of started picking up and the noise levels when it gets going were unbelievable, so really looking forward to having our own people in there.

“The boys have been blown away by the ticket sales. I think if you'd told us we'd get 25,000 beforehand, we would have taken that. But you know what it's like - we're all a bit greed yand we're all talking about getting to four times the Scotstoun crowd so if we can get 28,000 to 30,000 that would be unbelievable.”

Steyn missed out on the 1872 Cup matches last season and feared he might be sidelined again after the injury he picked up against Benetton proved to be worse than originally diagnosed.

“We had an x-ray and an MRI that showed no fracture and I thought I'd managed to get a bit lucky,” he explained. “And then as we were gearing up for [Glasgow’s trip to] South Africa and I was trying to ramp up my training load, my leg just wasn't coping with it. So we went and re-scanned it.

“We picked up that there was a fracture that we had missed. It can be commonly missed and sometimes the only way you pick it up is when it starts healing. So, unfortunately that just sent everything kind of 180 and then I had to get a plate put in and that's where we are now.”

Steyn, who signed a contract extension earlier this month, said he was “buzzing” to be back in time for the latest instalment of a rivalry which pitches Scotland team-mates against each other.

Sione Tuipulotu with Glasgow Warriors captain Kyle Steyn. | SNS Group

“I always find it such a difficult one to try to explain to people,” he said. “But it's like anything you do against your brother when you're growing up. It's like a sibling rivalry because that's the sort of connection we've got with these guys through the Scotland camp. And I don't know what it is about when you're up against your brother, but you always want to give it a little bit more and that's the way everyone will be feeling.”

The teams

Glasgow Warriors: Kyle Rowe; Sebastian Cancelliere, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Steyn (capt); Tom Jordan, George Horne; Jamie Bhatti, Johnny Matthews, Zander Fagerson, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Ally Miller, Matt Fagerson, Jack Mann. Replacements: Gregor Hiddleston, Rory Sutherland, Patrick Schickerling, Alex Samuel, Grant Stewart, Angus Fraser, Jamie Dobie, Duncan Weir.

Edinburgh: Wes Goosen; Darcy Graham, Matt Currie, Mosese Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe; Ross Thompson, Ali Price; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D’Arcy Rae, Marshall Sykes, Grant Gilchrist (CAPT), Jamie Ritchie, Luke Crosbie, Magnus Bradbury. Replacements: Dave Cherry, Boan Venter, Javan Sebastian, Sam Skinner, Ben Muncaster, Ben Vellacott, Ben Healy, James Lang.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU).