Edinburgh power to cup triumph

Edinburgh triumphed in the Junior 1872 Cup with an eventually comfortable 23-7 win over Glasgow Warriors on the 3G pitch at Netherdale – thanks in no small part to their powerful scrum and their more aggressive back row.

Withman-of-the-matchhari Morris excelling, the Edinburgh side, made up of players from the capital, the Borders and East Lothian, also had eyecatching performances from Kelso stand-off Liam Hardman, who is based at Cardiff University, and his half-back partner Kyle Mcghee from Musselburgh. They led 13-7 at the break through tries by fullback Callum Pate and wing Scott Robeson and a penalty from Mcghee, Glasgow’s firsthalf points coming from a try by scrum-half Sandy Greig and the conversion by full-back Adam Scott.

In the second half Mcghee added to his points tally with a try converted by centre Paul Cunningham, the latter ensuring an Edinburgh victory with a late penalty goal.

In the match that followed, Caledonia confirmed their dominance in the FOSROC Academy Series at under-18 level by defeating Borders and East Lothian 33-17 in the final. Caledonia’s superiority in the forward battle, where their height and bulk, particularly the second row of Alex Samuel and Max Williamson, together with the pace of their back three and the strength of their centres proved a winning blend.

After a slow start they led 12-5 at half-time through tries by Williamson and centre Thomas Glendinning and a conversion by Euan Cunningham to a try for Borders by Christian Townsend.

Tries by back row Jack Duncan, centre Mike Gray and wing Ross Mcknight, all converted, completed Caledonia’s scoring, Borders and East Lothian adding to their total with tries by Ben Pickles and Mason Cullen and a conversion by Townsend.