Duhan van der Merwe wonder-try wins match for Edinburgh but Glasgow Warriors lift 1872 Cup

If last week’s first leg at Scotstoun was a little on the attritional side, the return at Murrayfield was anything but. In a game of ebb and flow, Edinburgh came from behind to win 19-14 to leave the majority of the bumper 37,904 crowd happy. Glasgow Warriors had the not insignificant consolation of retaining the 1872 Cup, winning 36-29 on aggregate, but looked rather glum-faced as they lifted the trophy in the emptying stadium.

It was the highest ever attendance for an Edinburgh home match, surpassing the 37,881 that watched their Heineken Cup quarter-final win over Toulouse in 2012. The crowd was swollen by a large Glasgow travelling support and their team seemed to be in the ascendancy for most of the match. The led early through Johnny Matthews’ tenth URC try of the season, then regained the lead in the second half through Stafford McDowall. But Edinburgh were never far behind. Matt Currie’s first half try kept them in touch, as did the boot of Ben Healy, and in van der Merwe they had the game’s outstanding performer. His 71st-minute try saw him run 70 metres after brilliant work at the breakdown by Darcy Graham. The two wingers recently signed lucrative new contracts with Edinburgh and have quickly repaid the faith the club has shown them.

Things didn’t start well for Edinburgh who found themselves under the pump from the kick-off. There was confusion in the home ranks as they tried to field it and Glasgow swarmed forward, with Josh McKay and then Ally Miller going dangerously close.