Since the start of 2015, the Warriors have played 12 times in front of proper crowds in the capital and only managed two wins: 12-25 in December 2016 and 25-32 in December 2022.

Their recent history at this venue bears comparison with how they have performed over the same period away from home against Munster (2/8), Leinster (1/11) and Ulster (0/6).

Jamie Ritchie in action for Edinburgh during last year’s 1872 Cup match at Murrayfield (Image: Pete Summers/Shutterstock)

With the best will in the world, Edinburgh have not been at the same level as the Irish sides and it’s also surprising that Glasgow’s players don’t seem able to take advantage of their familiarity with the stadium from international duty.

The capital club are a different beast when they tackle their oldest rivals on home turf though and they will look to rise to those levels of performance once again.

The teams

  • 1872 Cup debuts (2) – Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Jack Brown.
  • Personnel changes from first leg (4):
  • In – James Lang, Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Charlie Shiel, Jack Brown
  • Out – Piers O’Conor, Ewan Ashman, Conor McAlpine, Matt Davidson
  • Even with capped forwards Ewan Ashman, Paddy Harrison, D’Arcy Rae, Marshall Sykes, Sam Skinner, Luke Crosbie and Ben Muncaster on the injured list, Edinburgh are still able to name an all international starting pack.
  • James Lang and Matt Currie will make their first start of the season together in the centres after being paired up in 10 of Edinburgh’s last 15 matches at the end of the previous campaign.
  • At 20 years, six months and nine days old, Jack Brown is the youngest player on either side

  • 1872 Cup debuts – none.
  • Personnel changes from first leg (4):
  • In – Patrick Schickerling, Johnny Matthews, Alex Samuel, Angus Fraser
  • Out – Rory Sutherland, Seb Stephen, Max Williamson, Ally Miller
  • 35% of the matchday 23s’ appearances for the Warriors have been made by the eight substitutes.
  • Glasgow have only won four of their last 12 matches where more than a third of the side’s previous appearances have come from the bench players.
  • Skipper Kyle Steyn will run out for the 100th time for the Warriors, having debuted against Cardiff in February 2019. This will be the 10th of those 100 games which he has played against Edinburgh.
  • It is also a milestone match for Scott Cummings, as he becomes the 14th Glasgow player to reach 150 outings for the club.

Head-to-head battles

Focal point

Edinburgh need more production from their backline if they want to challenge Glasgow on a consistent basis.

Over four hours of rugby have been played in 1872 Cup fixtures since an Edinburgh back last scored a try.

Across the last seven fixtures in this series while the capital club’s forwards have pretty much matched their Glasgow counterparts with 10 tries to 11, their backs have only managed a pair of five-pointers compared to eight for the Warriors.

This has been an issue throughout recent URC and European campaigns as well. Key decision makers in the Edinburgh backline don’t get their hands on the ball enough to have the influence on matches that Glasgow’s 9, 10 and 12 are able to exert.

Average number of passes per 80 minutes (last three games)

  • Scrum half: Edinburgh 64 – 114 Glasgow
  • Fly-half: Edinburgh 12 – 25 Glasgow
  • Inside centre: Edinburgh 7 – 13 Glasgow

The first choice scrum half role has reverted to Ben Vellacott after two seasons in Ali Price’s hands.

The number one number 10 was Ben Healy in 2023/24, Ross Thompson in 2024/25 and now appears to be Cammy Scott for 2025/26.

James Lang has made the most starts at inside centre since joining the club in 2021 but would probably be missing out on this game if Mosese Tuipulotu was fit.

Edinburgh’s coaches have to find a way to maximise the skillsets available to them, particularly in the above trio, if they are to get the most out of world class talents like Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe out wide.

The 1872 Cup, qualification for the Champions Cup knockout stages and URC playoffs are all still alive at this point for Edinburgh, but none of these are likely to be achieved without the backline’s performance levels moving closer to that of their pack.

Form guide

Previous meetings

Edinburgh v Glasgow in Edinburgh over the last 10 seasons:

  • Wins: Edinburgh 11-4 Glasgow
  • Try Bonus Points: Edinburgh 1 – 2 Glasgow
  • Losing Bonus Points: Edinburgh 2 – 6 Glasgow
  • Match points: Edinburgh 47 (63%) – 24 (32%) Glasgow

Most recent encounter in Edinburgh

Officials

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU, 24th league game) Assistants: Rob McDowell (SRU) and Jonny Mackenzie (SRU) TMO: David Sutherland (SRU)

Hollie Davidson’s appointment means that the two referees that took charge of last season’s 1872 Cup matches have also filled the same roles this year but in the reverse fixtures.

At Hampden in 2024, Scotland’s top official sin binned three players – two from Edinburgh and one from Glasgow – while the penalty count finished at 9 – 13 in the home side’s favour.

That was something the Warriors couldn’t repeat last week at the same venue but this time with Eoghan Cross in the middle.

Despite making 143 fewer tackles than Edinburgh and only spending 38% of the game without the ball, Glasgow conceded 13 penalties in defence compared to just eight from their visitors.

A similarly ill-disciplined showing this time round is likely to hand a significant advantage to the capital club, who will reflect positively on just how little their defence offered the Warriors in terms of easy opportunities for points.

Tale of the tape

  • Both sides’ 23s have a slightly younger average age than last week’s selections but with more previous appearances for their respective clubs.
  • The weight advantage in the starting packs has flipped from Edinburgh to Glasgow, with the switching out of Ewan Ashman and particularly Ollie Blyth-Lafferty having an outsized impact.