Glasgow Warriors 33-14 Edinburgh

Glasgow Warriors provided a performance befitting of their biggest-ever home occasion, running in five tries to claim a 33-14 victory in the 1872 Cup opener at Hampden Park.

A brace from Johnny Matthews, in addition to scores from Huw Jones, Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie, saw Franco Smith’s men claim all five points in putting Edinburgh to the sword, on a famous afternoon in the club’s history.

With the Hampden roar in full voice, it took the men in black just six minutes to send the Warrior Nation stratospheric. Turnover ball from Gregor Brown in midfield allowed Huw Jones to chip ahead, with the chase of Kyle Steyn forcing Darcy Graham to carry over his own line. A brace of repeated penalties later, and the maul proved too much for the visitors to stop, Matthews emerging with the ball for a score that – converted by Horne – gave Glasgow a 7-0 lead.

The home side were quickly making Hampden just that, and a second score arrived with 14 minutes on the clock. With Pierre Schoeman in the sin bin for illegal head contact on Brown, the Warriors struck. Superb interplay from Scott Cummings, Jones and Matt Fagerson in midfield set up the position for Tom Jordan to sneak through a ruck, drawing the last man to send Jones under the posts. Horne converted, and the Hampden roar was at full volume.

It was to get even better for the Warriors before even half an hour was on the clock, as a charge from Sione Tuipulotu and pinpoint accuracy from the forwards gave Matthews his usual set-piece platform five metres from the line. The hooker duly delivered with a sublime throw to Cummings, before tucking himself away at the back of the maul for his second – and Glasgow’s third – score of the contest. Once more Horne was on target, and the scoreline read 21-0.

Chasing a bonus-point before the interval, Franco Smith’s men went on the charge, the Fagerson brothers carrying hard into contact and Matthews roaming open space like a winger. Only a last-ditch interception from Magnus Bradbury would deny Ally Miller from scoring with the last play of the half, as the Warrior Nation roared their team back to the dressing rooms.

The noise would ratchet up another notch just 90 seconds into the second stanza, as the Warriors secured the attacking bonus-point. Horne’s inside ball to Sebastian Cancelliere took the winger in behind, Matthews on hand to carry the ball forward into the Edinburgh 22. With the ball swiftly recycled, Tuipulotu’s pass was perfectly-measured for Steyn to gather at full tilt, the captain diving over in the corner to bring Hampden to its feet. Whilst Horne’s kick was wayward for the first time in the contest, the home side led 26-0.

Whilst the capital side almost struck back immediately as Ali Price couldn’t reel in an offload after Duhan van der Merwe’s break, the Warriors remained on the front foot, urged on by the Warrior Nation in search of more. Tuipulotu’s break from deep saw him make 50 metres, the centre just unable to link with Cancelliere on his inside shoulder.

The Warriors kept coming, the back-line connecting in electrifying fashion to release Cancelliere. The Argentinian’s offload sent Cummings on course for the line, with only desperate scramble defence from the capital outfit denying Smith’s men a fifth score of the game.

They wouldn’t be denied for long though, as try number five arrived just after the hour mark. Cummings on the charge was too much for the Edinburgh defensive line to handle, the second-rower galloping through before timing his pass perfectly to Dobie on his shoulder. Horne made no mistake with the extras, taking the scoreline to 33-0 in the home side’s favour.

Back came the visitors, as they searched for a consolation score to silence the Hampden roar. Yet within their own five-metre line, the Warriors held firm, Cummings leading the defensive stand to force a knock-on from those in orange.

Edinburgh would get their consolation with five minutes remaining, as Boan Venter eventually found the power to drive through the tackle and touch down. Ben Healy’s conversion made sure it was the full complement for the visitors, but nothing would silence the Warrior Nation.

Venter would grab a second 90 seconds from full-time, but this was Glasgow’s day. The roar that greeted the full-time whistle underlined the magnitude of the result, the Warriors providing the perfect result to their biggest-ever home match and writing a new chapter in the club’s history.