Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors half-term report: Ability to eke out bonus points separates evenly-matched sides

Although both teams are evenly matched when it comes to win-loss ratios, Glasgow are five points and two places ahead of their inter-city rivals after nine rounds of fixtures. In what is head coach Franco Smith’s second year in charge, the Warriors have continued in the same vein as last season despite a raft of injuries to key personnel, with Rory Darge the latest to join the casualty list.

Edinburgh, with new coach Sean Everitt at the helm, have made a decent start and ended 2023 on a high by beating Glasgow at Murrayfield in the second leg of the 1872 Cup. It wasn’t enough to regain the trophy - the Warriors retained it on aggregate - but was a significantly morale-boosting win going into the January mini-break.

The same but different

Glasgow and Edinburgh have each won six and lost three in the URC and sit third and fifth respectively at the midpoint. The Warriors’ ability to eke out bonus points, particularly away from home and in games they lost, is the difference between the two clubs who are both well-placed to finish in the top eight and make the play-offs.

Glasgow have secured seven bonus points in nine matches while Edinburgh have snared a measly two. Four of Glasgow’s bonus points came on the road and three were secured at home; six of them came from scoring four tries or more and that includes the bonus points they picked up in away defeats against Irish opposition, Connacht and Munster. They picked up just one losing bonus point from finishing within seven points of their opponents and that came last Saturday at Murrayfield. This ability to salvage something from tough away games is likely to be crucial in the final shakedown when the top four in the standings have home advantage in the play-off quarter-finals.

Overhaul at Edinburgh

There was a major overhaul of playing staff at Edinburgh after a disappointing 2022-23 season which saw them finish 12th. Scottish Rugby has invested heavily in reinvigorating the squad, most notably in splashing out on stand-off Ben Healy from Munster and hooker Ewan Ashman from Sale, and the governing body will expect a return. Healy and Ashman have been significant contributors so far, with the former being instrumental to Edinburgh’s move to a more kicking-based game.

While they no longer play with the freedom that characterised Mike Blair’s first season in charge, Edinburgh have shored up the vulnerabilities that blighted Blair’s difficult second campaign. Healy’s influence can be seen in the 90 URC points he has already contributed - more than any other player in the league.

The hope is that Edinburgh do not become too reliant on the boot of Healy, especially now that Darcy Graham and Emilano Boffelli are back from long lay-offs. With back-three options that also include Duhan van der Merwe, Wes Goosen and young Harry Paterson, the capital club have an array of attacking talent which is the envy of the league - if they can bring them into the game more regularly.

One back-three player no longer at Edinburgh is Blair Kinghorn who left in mid-season to join Toulouse in a big-money move which landed the capital club a six-figure transfer fee and the money has been reinvested in new contracts for Graham and van der Merwe.

Glasgow battle through adversity

Glasgow’s close-season recruitment was modest by comparison and one of their more influential signings, lock Greg Peterson, has already left for the US. Given the number of injuries they’ve picked up, it makes their performance in the first half of the campaign all the more impressive.

Among those in the sick bay are captain Kyle Steyn and experienced internationals Fraser Brown, Sebastian Cancelliere, Jack Dempsey, Jamie Dobie, Matt Fagerson, Ollie Smith and Sione Vailanu. Sadly, they have now been joined by Darge who suffered a serious knee injury at the weekend.

One of Franco Smith’s great strengths has been his ability to bring out the best from his whole squad, integrating fringe players and imbuing them with a sense of purpose. The coach will need to do it all again, particularly when he loses his Scotland players for the Six Nations.

Price is right for Edinburgh

One of the most eye-catching stories of the season was Ali Price’s November loan move from Glasgow to Edinburgh after nine seasons at Scotstoun. The deal was done after an approach by the Scotland national team and Price has made a bright start in the east after struggling under Smith at Glasgow. That led to him losing his position as Scotland’s starting scrum-half for the Six Nations. He had won it back by the final group game of the World Cup and national coach Gregor Townsend clearly wants him playing regularly, which he has been at Edinburgh. The deal was harsh on Glasgow, especially so when George Horne and Dobie both got injured, but Horne is back to full fitness now.

What to expect in the second half of the season

Both teams have this weekend off before returning to action with two rounds of European fixtures. With the Six Nations then taking centre stage, it means that they won’t play in the URC again until February 16-17. By that stage the focus will be squarely on the national team and Edinburgh and Glasgow will have to negotiate rounds 10 and 11 of the URC without their frontline Scotland players.

After that, both pro sides face spring trips to South Africa, always a tough test, even for coaches with local knowledge. Glasgow’s second-half programme looks slightly easier than Edinburgh’s by virtue of the fact they have already played all four Irish provinces. Edinburgh have faced only three and their penultimate league fixture is a home game against Munster

The Scottish teams each have two games to come against Zebre and one against the Sharks who are currently third bottom and bottom, respectively. And Glasgow also have to play the Dragons, who are second bottom.

The Warriors’ ability to grind out the bonus points should stand them in good stead for a top-four finish while Edinburgh have enough quality in their squad to make missing out on the play-offs for a second successive season unthinkable.