Visser double seals 1872 triumph
Tim Visser's first-half double secured Edinburgh the 1872 Cup for the first time in six years with an impressive 20-8 victory over Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield on Friday.
Visser's opportunistic strikes before the interval had opened up a 17-point lead for Alan Solomons' side, more than enough to overturn the aggregate deficit after their 16-6 defeat at Scotstoun last time out.
But Nikola Matawalu's second-half score closed the gap to 26-24 overall and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, who in the first half was flawless from the kicking tee, failed to stretch the lead as the hosts had to cling on in the end.
Defeat for Glasgow, only their third in the league all season, was a bitter pill to swallow but Edinburgh, the first winners of the trophy 142 years ago, have now won the six in a row at Murrayfield and secure the historic cup for the first time since 2009.
Gregor Townsend continued his rotation policy as the Warriors side showed ten changes from the one that had edged out the victory at Scotstoun and as a result they appeared uneasy in the opening exchanges.
A chip over the top by the hosts' flyhalf Greig Tonks was not covered by Tommy Seymour and for a moment Dougie Fife appeared to be clean through before the Warriors defence scrambled bag to scrag him just short of the line.
After that early warning shot the game began to open up but it was the visitors who had the first chance to open the scoring, Finn Russell taking full advantage with a penalty after the scrum had forced an Edinburgh infringement.
The hosts mustered a fine response and nearly had the first try when a succession of forward drives brought them up to Glasgow's try line before Fife coughed up possession to end the pressure.
But the hosts established parity as the first quarter came to an end with Hidalgo-Clyne slotting a fine penalty into the breeze to make it 3-3.
The battle at scrum time was topsy-turvy with Nigel Owens quick to punish both front-rows but Hidalgo-Clyne was spot on with a close-range penalty to put the hosts 6-3 ahead.
Now in front for the first time Alan Solomons' side were growing in confidence and it was even better news just before the half-hour mark as Tim Visser came off his left flank to cut a lovely line through the centre of the Warriors defence for the game's first try.
Hidalgo-Clyne continued his unerring start from the tee by adding the extras and with a 13-3 lead the 1872 cup could go either way with the aggregate score at 19-19.
Visser was clearly in the mod however and moments later he flew out of the line to pick off Peter Horne's errant pass and race clear for his second try in quick succession, Hidaglo-Clyne again spot on with the conversion.
At 20-3 in front the Cup was in Edinburgh's hands and that was how the scores stayed up until the half-time interval.
With the historic Cup seemingly slipping from their grasp the Warriors needed a response after the break and it was Matawalu who provided it.
The Fijian scrumhalf caught the Edinburgh defence cold with a break and chip down the left touchline that he dived on for the Warriors' first try of the game.
Russell missed the touchline conversion, however, and Edinburgh were still in the lead, 20-8 in this match and 26-24 overall.
Townsend's side had come alive however and Visser had to be alert to gather another clever kick from Matawalu with Seymour threatening.
Just before the hour mark Hidalgo-Clyne was wayward with a long-range penalty as Edinburgh looked to create some breathing room but his miskick never threatened the uprights.
And the scrumhalf could not correct his radar with the game entering the closing stages as he pushed another penalty wide to keep the Edinburgh faithful on the edge of their seats.
But the hosts held on for a deserved victory in the end as the BT Murrayfield crowd went home with the local bragging rights.
The scorers:
Tries: Visser 2
Cons: Hidalgo-Clyne 2
Pens: Hidalgo-Clyne 2
Try: Matawalu
Pen: Russell
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Phil Burleigh, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 David Denton, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Mike Coman (captain), 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 John Andress, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Sam Beard.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Niko Matawalu, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Tyrone Holmes, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Al Kellock (captain), 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Euan Murray, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 James Eddie, 21 Ali Price, 22 Richie Vernon, 23 Stuart Hogg.
Referee: Nigel Owens
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White, Peter Allan
TMO: Jim Yuille