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Glasgow seize 1872 Cup control with bruising win over Edinburgh

By PA
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 23: Edinburgh's Glen Young at full time during a BKT United Rugby Championship match between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh at Scotstoun Stadium, on December 23, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)

Glasgow seized the initiative in the 1872 Cup as a solid first-half display laid the foundations for a 16-10 first-leg victory over Edinburgh at Scotstoun on Friday.

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There were only two tries in a hard-fought match – scored by Glasgow’s Jack Dempsey and Edinburgh’s Connor Boyle – but the hosts’ clinical kicking ultimately proved the difference ahead of the second leg at BT Murrayfield next week.

Both sides made late changes ahead of kick-off.

Glasgow promoted Lucio Sordoni, who was not even in the initial 23, to the starting line-up, with Murphy Walker dropping to the bench after Nathan MacBeth, who was among the subs, was forced to withdraw.

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For Edinburgh, who were already without a string of key men through injury, Harry Paterson came in for just his second appearance after Wes Goosen was deemed unfit for action.

The visitors spurned a good chance to get the first points on the scoreboard in the fifth minute when Emiliano Boffelli – kicking into the wind – sent a penalty wide of the posts from a central position.

The Argentine’s kicking once again let him down eight minutes later when he kicked another penalty against the post.

Those missed kicks proved costly as Glasgow made the breakthrough in the 28th minute when Dempsey received a pass from George Horne and powered beyond a challenge from Chris Dean to touch down over the line. Horne duly added the conversion.

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In the last action of the half, Horne kicked a close-range penalty to give Warriors a 10-0 lead at the interval.

But Edinburgh made a strong start to the second half and they got themselves back in the game when Boyle powered his way over following a line-out near the Glasgow line. This time, Boffelli was successful with his conversion.

The hosts – having been on the back foot for much of the second half – extended their lead to six points in the 67th minute when Tom Jordan kicked a close-range penalty.

And Jordan then kicked another penalty in the 75th minute to put Glasgow more than a converted score ahead of their visitors.

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Jaco van der Walt gave Edinburgh a glimmer of hope with a long-distance penalty in the 79th minute, but it proved too little, too late..

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Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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