Warriors beat Edinburgh despite Huw Jones yellow card

MATCH REPORT: Danny Wilson toasted his first win as Glasgow Warriors head coach as Fraser Brown and Ratu Tagive tries beat Edinburgh in front of 700 supporters at BT Murrayfield.

The derby marked the first professional rugby match in the UK to welcome spectators since the Covid-19 lockdown, and it didn’t disappoint as the visitors edged a physical encounter 15-3.

Edinburgh won their previous match-up just a week ago – securing the 1872 Cup in the process – but they could not match Glasgow’s intensity.

Brown scored the first try in just the eighth minute, while winger Tagive’s smart finish put the Warriors clear in the second half and ensured they end a difficult campaign with a win.

Edinburgh and Glasgow is the oldest derby in the world and so it was fitting that an experienced player got the opening try of the night.

Glasgow were up for it from the off, quick to the breakdown and with a pop to their passing, as they started with an intensity tough to contain.

And in the ninth minute, hooker Brown, on his 100th Warriors appearance, drove over from close range.

Edinburgh have a Semi-Final against Ulster to look forward to next week but head coach Richard Cockerill will demand more from his players.

Although Huw Jones was sin-binned shortly after for an illegal tackle, Glasgow maintained their intensity and repelled wave after wave of Edinburgh attacks.

After surviving that spell of pressure, the Warriors finished the half strongly – with Zander Fagerson so close dotting down – but it was Edinburgh’s turn to hold on, trailing just 7-3 at the break.

The hosts changed their entire front row early in the second half, bringing on the likes of WP Nel and Stuart McInally – highlighting their strength in depth.

But it was Glasgow who struck next, with Ali Price sprinting 60m upfield in a break that stretched the Edinburgh defence before the ball was worked left, where Jones slipped it to Tagive to dive over.

An Adam Hastings penalty extended that lead to 12 points with just 14 minutes remaining and, although Edinburgh gained good territory, the hosts made too many set-piece errors.

The result ensures Glasgow finish third in Conference A, while Edinburgh will now their attentions to the Semi-Finals.

The scorers:

For Edinburgh

Pen: Chamberlain

For Glasgow Warriors:

Tries: Brown, Tagive

Con: Hastings

Pen: Hastings

Teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 James Johnstone, 12 Chris Dean (captain), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Nathan Chamberlain, 9 Charlie Shiel, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Jamie Hodgson, 4 Nick Haining, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 Pierre Schoeman

Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 WP Nel, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Roan Frostwick, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Matt Gordon

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Huw Jones, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Ratu Tagive, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown (captain), 1 Oli Kebble

Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Charlie Capps, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Ali Price, 22 Pete Horne, 23 Robbie Nairn

Referee: Ben Blain

Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White, Graeme Ormiston

TMO: Neil Paterson

Source: @Pro14Official