Best and Worst of 1872

A version of this article first appeared in Scrum Magazine several moons ago

 The first 1872 cup match that I recall properly was in 2013. I remember it for a couple of reasons. Firstly it started a tradition with my son of going to the home match that continues to this day and I hope always will but also because in the 36th minute Stuart Hogg was yellow carded for a touchline scuffle with Tom Brown. Brown was also carded but my memory, faulty or otherwise, has it that Hoggy got his first and a huge cheer went up around Murrayfield at that point. It seemed likely that Edinburgh would go on to win the match and they  had been in front right up till the last quarter when that man Hogg scored the winning try. Glasgow ended up winning that one 16-20 but all the same I have fond memories of it.

A year and a bit later in January 2015, Edinburgh were at home for the second leg that season and having already lost 16-6 at Scotstoun  and without really having fired a shot to a high flying Warriors side my hopes weren’t high for the game despite the fact that Glasgow had made 10 changes for this leg. My pessimism was unfounded however as Tim Visser scored 2 tries that night with the second being from an interception (bit of a theme) from a Pete Horne pass and Edinburgh won the game and the 1872 cup for the first time in 6 years with a slender aggregate margin of 4 pts. 

I particularly enjoyed the two legs in December 2015 and January 2016.  We won the first leg with a margin that looked pretty good that even had we lost the second might still prove decisive but then the weather gods intervened in Edinburgh’s favour and Scotstoun was waterlogged for the return match. Amidst much moaning and gnashing of teeth, some of it mine when tickets were not made available for Edinburgh fans, the game was moved to Murrayfield. Edinburgh won again and we retained the trophy for the first time in the professional era.  

The first leg in the new 3 game format at BT Murrayfield in December 2017 looked over after only 6 minutes when Simon Berghan saw red for stamping on Fraser Brown. Edinburgh however clung on and were never more than 11 points behind Glasgow. For all that it looked like the win was headed to Scotstoun. In the last minute though Edinburgh had a ruck on the Glasgow 5 metre line. Frank Murphy blew for a penalty and Henry Pyrgos, still in Glasgow colours at that point, thought it had gone his way and started furiously clapping his delight, only for Chris Dean to take a quick tap and go to score in the corner unopposed. I still have that game on my Sky planner and it’s stopped right at that moment. I still laugh when I see Henry’s clapping. 

The home leg in December 2018 was special for two reasons.  Both of them coming thanks to the generosity of a certain son of a prominent Edinburgh player of old as he gifted two intercepted tries to Duhan Van der Merwe, one in each half. Xmas dinner in the Hastings family would have been interesting that year. The win at Scotstoun that followed a week or so later was the icing on the cake.

On the flip side I’ve chosen to forget most of the bad days, but the third leg in the 2018-2019 season in April at Scotstoun is definitely a lowlight. Yes the trophy had been secured at festive time but Edinburgh still travelled along the M8 with an outside chance of making the play offs should they win and they just didn’t. Clearly exhausted after a long season which was unravelling bit by bit not one Edinburgh player seemed at the races. The only possible exception to that being John Barclay who had really only just returned to full fitness in the last 8 weeks so was fresh. 

It was my first visit to Glasgow for an 1872 match and I had organised a bus from Edinburgh so it was just a bad day all round.

Subsequent to that there was the small matter of the ‘train incident’ in the match at Scotstoun in January 2021.  If you don’t remember or have tried to erase the memory, Men in Black style, then let me remind you. As the game approached halftime Nic Groom  caught a Glasgow high ball n the back field. At the same time a passing train sounded it’s horn and Groom thinking that was the halftime hooter kicked the ball straight out. It wasn’t (obviously) and from the resultant lineout and a couple of phases Glasgow managed to get a penalty which they converted. Only half time but the game finished with Glasgow winning by 1 point so it’s hard not to make the connection.