They call it the 1872 Cup. For Scottish rugby fans,
this home and away series between their two beloved teams, is the one of the
highlights of the RaboDirect Pro 12 professional calendar. Every year, over the
Christmas season, Glasgow and Edinburgh contest the right to hoist the trophy,
in front of huge crowds of holiday spectators.
In the 2012 version of the Cup, Canadian fans had a special reason to pay attention. Glasgow’s Canadian hero DTH Van der Merwe had laid down an incredible performance on the wing for his club in the first leg of the competition; scoring two tries and helping shred the Edinburgh defence with his dynamic running. It was an important momentum builder for the Warriors, and for Van der Merwe, it was a return to the type of form he knows he is capable of.
“It was a great result in that first weekend against the Gunners, we played some really good rugby in the first-half with three scores, but kind of let them back in the game in the second. That was really disappointing not to have gotten the fourth try bonus, but in the end we'll take the win against a very good Edinburgh team and the four points in the league.
Personally, I was lucky enough to have dotted down twice in that game. It’s been a while since I scored a try and I was happy to have done it versus Edinburgh that weekend.”
The brace of tries by the Warriors wing was enough to help Glasgow to a 17 – 0 first half-lead in match one, on way to a 23 – 14 final score. The victory left Glasgow in a strong position as they travelled to the Scottish capital for the second leg of the 1872 Cup at Murrayfield, this past weekend. Van der Merwe knew that his club’s job was only half finished.
“It was great to get that first result against Edinburgh, but we had to stay down to earth as the job wasn’t done yet. Edinburgh is a great team and a team that thrives of momentum. We had to be clinical this weekend at Murrayfield in defence, as it is a wider and bigger pitch which really suites Edinburgh's style of play. If they had gotten a head start in the game it could have been a very long night for us.”
In the end, another series of rampaging runs by Canada’s speedster helped bring the coveted Cup home to Glasgow for a fourth straight season. Van der Merwe was denied a score once by the video match official, before breaking five straight Edinburgh tackles and offloading to fullback Stuart Hogg, only to see that break end in a knock-on.
All of Glasgow’s pressure, however, could not be turned back indefinitely, and three Warriors scores saw them clear to a 21 – 17 away win, to claim the 1872 Cup by a final aggregate score of 44 – 31.
For Canadian fans, these two matches gave the strongest evidence yet, that one of this country’s most famous scoring threats is edging back to form. Glasgow next host the 7th placed Italians from Treviso this coming Friday, in attempt to maintain their status of one of the top-four clubs in the RaboDirect Pro 12.
Follow DTH Van der Merwe on Twitter: @DTHVDM
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In the 2012 version of the Cup, Canadian fans had a special reason to pay attention. Glasgow’s Canadian hero DTH Van der Merwe had laid down an incredible performance on the wing for his club in the first leg of the competition; scoring two tries and helping shred the Edinburgh defence with his dynamic running. It was an important momentum builder for the Warriors, and for Van der Merwe, it was a return to the type of form he knows he is capable of.
“It was a great result in that first weekend against the Gunners, we played some really good rugby in the first-half with three scores, but kind of let them back in the game in the second. That was really disappointing not to have gotten the fourth try bonus, but in the end we'll take the win against a very good Edinburgh team and the four points in the league.
Personally, I was lucky enough to have dotted down twice in that game. It’s been a while since I scored a try and I was happy to have done it versus Edinburgh that weekend.”
The brace of tries by the Warriors wing was enough to help Glasgow to a 17 – 0 first half-lead in match one, on way to a 23 – 14 final score. The victory left Glasgow in a strong position as they travelled to the Scottish capital for the second leg of the 1872 Cup at Murrayfield, this past weekend. Van der Merwe knew that his club’s job was only half finished.
“It was great to get that first result against Edinburgh, but we had to stay down to earth as the job wasn’t done yet. Edinburgh is a great team and a team that thrives of momentum. We had to be clinical this weekend at Murrayfield in defence, as it is a wider and bigger pitch which really suites Edinburgh's style of play. If they had gotten a head start in the game it could have been a very long night for us.”
In the end, another series of rampaging runs by Canada’s speedster helped bring the coveted Cup home to Glasgow for a fourth straight season. Van der Merwe was denied a score once by the video match official, before breaking five straight Edinburgh tackles and offloading to fullback Stuart Hogg, only to see that break end in a knock-on.
All of Glasgow’s pressure, however, could not be turned back indefinitely, and three Warriors scores saw them clear to a 21 – 17 away win, to claim the 1872 Cup by a final aggregate score of 44 – 31.
For Canadian fans, these two matches gave the strongest evidence yet, that one of this country’s most famous scoring threats is edging back to form. Glasgow next host the 7th placed Italians from Treviso this coming Friday, in attempt to maintain their status of one of the top-four clubs in the RaboDirect Pro 12.
Follow DTH Van der Merwe on Twitter: @DTHVDM
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Jeff Hull is a freelance contributor to Rugby
Canada. His Rugby Canada Pro Report can be read regularly on this website, as
well as on Facebook, Twitter and in the Blogosphere.
To contact the author, write to: jhull@rugbycanada.ca
Follow Jeff Hull on Twitter: @ProReport
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