Glasgow and Edinburgh warm up for spicy derby

For old-school supporters and lovers of MMA, the 1872 Cup is inked into the calendar. Such is the rivalry between Edinburgh and Glasgow that for three games a year players who send each other Christmas cards, retweet each others’ jokes and share rooms on Scotland duty go at it hammer and tongs.

There is always a brutal edge to these games as a spicy rivalry simmers and occasionally boils over. With a change in the balance of power between the sides, and little love lost between two coaches, today’s game at Scotstoun promises to be especially highly charged.

The opening shot was fired this week when Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill suggested that some Glasgow players, who in the run-up to previous games he has dismissed as soft, were “whingers”. Warriors’ usually reticent head coach Dave Rennie shot back: “Yeah, well, he would know, wouldn’t he?” Such an open display of discord is likely to heighten already inflamed passions. That is especially the case given that the standings of the two sides has given this game an unusual degree of importance for both, not to mention for those players for whom the 1872 Cup is unofficially an extended Scotland trial ahead of the Six Nations.

Glasgow are struggling to make the Pro14 play-offs and are all but out of the Champions Cup. By contrast, Edinburgh, invariably the underdog, are flying high in the Pro14 and remain undefeated in the European Challenge Cup.

“It’s not backs to the wall yet, although we’re not happy with where we’re at in either competition,” said Rennie, who is in his last season as Warriors coach before taking over at the Wallabies next summer. It’s a big game for us, so I would expect to see the urgency that’s required.”

Cockerill said: “They’ll be motivated, the points are vital to them staying in the hunt. We’re looking forward to what’s going to be a red-hot derby.”