Edinburgh aim to change narrative against Glasgow

URC: Glasgow Warriors vs. Edinburgh

Location: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Saturday, December 20th, 2015 15:00 GMT

Less than a week has passed since Hampden Park’s last shock, when St Mirren defeated Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup final. It would be similarly surprenant if Edinburgh took on the high-flying Glasgow Warriors on Saturday at the national stadium.

After coming out of a 21-0 deficit to win the Champions Cup, the Warriors are riding high following a heartfelt and stunning victory over six-time European champions Toulouse.

Edinburgh, in contrast, are suffering from a 33-0 defeat by Castres. What we already know is that Edinburgh can be a match for anyone at its best thanks to their seismic victory over French heavyweights Toulon the week before. But they continue to be obstinately and consistently inconsistent.

The home team’s recent victory in the 1872 Cup meetings is reflected in the story. Seven of Glasgow and Edinburgh’s previous eight games, which adopted a two-leg format in 2021, have ended in victories at home. Since 2020, Edinburgh haven’t won the 1872 Cup along the M8.

Warriors have won the trophy for the third time in a row, but their most recent win left them with the bittersweet feeling that it had been lost in the Murrayfield second leg.

Ollie Smith, the Warriors’ representative, told BBC Scotland, “We’ve gone through this cycle of hammering Edinburgh in the first game, we’re all over them, and then the second game we lose.”

We’re happy to retain the 1872 Cup, but we still want to win both games, according to the coach, who said, “but I think it just shows the kind of standards that we set ourselves at the start of the season.”

It’s putting together a performance we can be proud of while getting our emotions right on those massive occasions.

Due to their extensive training, Sean Everitt’s side are experts at recovering from disappointing defeats. Fans of Edinburgh would be grateful if their team once again showed up at Hampden on the right foot rather than endured suffering.

Back-row Liam McConnell, one of the capital side’s breakout players this year, believes that his team’s best team will face one of the best sides in the city of Glasgow. He enjoys the tussle between the sides because of it.

The 21-year-old admitted, “I’ve never played in one. “I’ve spent the last couple of seasons playing for the club and watching it during the 1872 Cup weeks. It’s always unique.

Being a part of the matchday squad is cool because the players have a different intensity around them. You can tell from the way everyone is so focused on Saturday.

“It’ll be good,” You could say that Glasgow are currently in excellent form, making them one of the best club teams in the world.

We’re playing one of the best club teams in the world right now, which is a challenge in and of itself. I’m very excited.

Edinburgh’s fielding a weak team and going down meekly to Castres was dynamite, retaining all the feelgood factor and momentum from that famous victory over Toulon.

Glasgow is lavished with praise, and Edinburgh is suffocated with questions and criticism as the derby progresses. It’s a well-known story.

Giving Warriors a bloody nose in front of their own people on Saturday would be the best way to change that.

There is no better person to defeat, is there? Ewan Ashman, a hooker from Edinburgh, said.

You want to play those games because we know they’re a good team. [Against Toulouse], Glasgow are a strong team, and that was a good win.

We know what we’re going to do because we’ve done it before with Toulon a few weeks ago. They’ll be coming in confidently and riding extremely high.