BAPTISM OF FIRE
Wilson is wary of dangerous Edinburgh
HAVING won the 1872 Cup in four of the past five seasons, the key to Edinburgh having the whip hand over Glasgow Warriors in recent times has so often been found in their pack of forwards.
The narrative around the contests between the two rivals has typically been distilled into a battle between the Edinburgh forwards and the Glasgow backs.
But the landscape has shifted over the past year or so — and it’s something which new Glasgow head coach Danny Wilson is acutely aware of.
As Wilson prepares for his first taste of the derby on Saturday, he admits it will be a baptism of fire against an Edinburgh side who sit top of Conference B in the Pro14.
Wilson has had precious little in the way of a normal pre-season to get his ideas across, but it is how to combat Edinburgh’s firepower which will form a key part of his message.
Richard Cockerill’s men have scored 44 tries from their 13 matches so far. That makes them top scorers in their section — and it’s six more than Glasgow have managed in the same number of games.
The Edinburgh back three of Darcy Graham, Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe could soon be the Scotland back three on any given day.
Together they possess a frightening blend of pace, power and lethal finishing ability, something which Wilson knows all too well.
‘I’ve obviously got a game-plan and tactics, which I won’t be making public just now for obvious reasons,’ said the Warriors head coach (right).
‘First and foremost, over the years, Glasgow and Edinburgh have built two pretty potent squads. When they come to that clash head-to-head, there are some really physical battles.
‘Cockers has done an outstanding job at Edinburgh in terms of developing those guys over the past few years. ‘I think they are two very different and unique styles of play. I think you’d agree with me that, over the years, they’ve probably been opposites. ‘One side (Edinburgh) will probably play a lot within structure and be extremely physical; another side (Glasgow) will probably try and play on top of speed and maybe not as structured. But what you’ve seen from Edinburgh over the last year is that they’ve developed their game to be able to play at speed as well. ‘So they’ve become quite a potent weapon and there’s a fair bit to deal with in terms of all their firepower. ‘Edinburgh are playing a fast brand of rugby. Look at their back three. Yes, they’ve got a pack of forwards who can cause problems.
‘But they have also now got a back three who are a real threat. All three of those guys are really potent runners, so we need to be right on top of that.’
Cockerill has rarely needed a second invitation over recent seasons to fuel the flames of the rivalry with some fiery comments.
Asked if he intended to indulge in any mind games, Wilson said: ‘No, that’s not really my style.
‘I’ve got a really good relationship with Cockers. I’ve worked with him from a Scotland and Edinburgh point of view. I still speak to him relatively regularly.
‘But I’m fully aware that it’s a derby. As we know, derbies bring that bit of rivalry and needle and all the rest of it. Long live that, it’s a really important part of a derby.
‘Our first two games coming back are two derby matches. For me, it’s a massive baptism of fire with no pre-season friendlies and you’re straight into two derbies against Edinburgh.
‘I’m going to learn a huge amount from these two games and, like everyone else, I’m thoroughly looking forward to it.’
It was announced yesterday that Wilson has picked Fraser Brown and Ryan Wilson to be Glasgow’s new co-captains for the forthcoming season.
Brown is likely to take charge if both men are on the field of play at the same time. Wilson, on the other hand, will be an able deputy when Brown is away on Scotland duty.
Although Wilson has not officially retired from the international set-up, he will be with Glasgow far more often given that he wasn’t selected in the Six Nations squad earlier this year. Head coach Wilson said: ‘We’re going to lose our Scotland players for eight weeks before Christmas, and then again postChristmas for the Six Nations.
‘So, all of a sudden, the season becomes pretty broken up into two working groups and so an element of that has come into consideration.
‘Fraser and Ryan complement each other in terms of their leadership styles, that’s another key part of this.
‘Ryan is a real character — a jack-the-lad type of person. He’s very popular with the group, he gets up morale, he adds humour where it needs to be added and he drives standards.
‘Then you’ve got Fraser who is extremely on top of standards, studies the game inside out and is a key decision-maker in terms of how the flow of the game is going.’
Wilson also confirmed that full-back Glenn Bryce is still training with the club, but that finding a long-term occupant of the No 15 jersey has been rather more troublesome.
Tommy Seymour deputised at times prior to lockdown, but Wilson revealed that he could well spring a surprise.
‘It was never the plan to not have an out-and-out full-back, if I’m putting it bluntly,’ he added. ‘Post-Covid, we were hit with the problems and restrictions that we had.
‘We were looking to sign a full-back and, unfortunately, that didn’t happen. So we’ve looked at that in a slightly different way.
‘Without giving too much away, you might see a little bit of a surprise at full-back, something that we’ve been working on.’