Edinburgh ‘A’ win intercity clash

The first half was a bruising, back-and-forth affair. Both sides showed plenty of fight and aggression in defence, leading to a tight 14-14 scoreline at the break.

Edinburgh drew first blood after just six minutes. Following sustained pressure, lock Euan McVie was the man who managed to bulldoze over the line after good work from the capital pack, with the successful conversion making it 7-0.

Glasgow responded swiftly, however, as full-back Fergus Watson demonstrated his pace, sprinting over after 10 minutes to level the scores at 7-7.

The lead changed hands again when Edinburgh hooker Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, who was one of Edinburgh’s best performers on the day, burrowed over the whitewash from close range to put the hosts back in front, 14-7.

But just before the interval, the strong-running Watson grabbed his second of the afternoon for Glasgow, ensuring the teams entered the sheds with the scores tied at 14-14.

The momentum appeared to swing in Glasgow’s favour immediately after the restart when replacement hooker Seb Stephen touched down in the corner, putting the visitors in front for the first time at 14-19.

Edinburgh, however, were not behind for long. The home side immediately upped the intensity and, after 49 minutes, Blyth-Lafferty secured his brace, diving over for his second try of the game. The conversion edged Edinburgh back into the lead, 21-19.

This score signalled a shift in control, and Edinburgh were soon in again. Scrum-half Adam McKenzie, playing at scrum-half from The University of Edinburgh, executed a sharp dart from the base of a ruck to cross the line, extending the lead to 28-19 and underlining the capital side’s dominance in the third quarter.

Edinburgh added some late polish to the scoreline when replacement Callum Jessop finished off a fine, sweeping break down the right flank, pushing the score to 35-19.

Glasgow managed to grab a late consolation try as the clock ticked down, but it was too little, too late. Edinburgh took a deserved 35-26 victory in the afternoon’s intercity clash, with the three second-half tries proving decisive in powering them to the win.

Ultimately, it was the forwards who laid the foundation for the success. Number 8 Tom Currie was eventually named Player of the Match after a strong display.

Currie was consistently instrumental, anchoring the Edinburgh scrum with power and delivering a number of bullying carries that kept the Warriors defence constantly retreating.