Gregor so sorry it wasn’t a grand finale

GLASGOW WARRIORS head coach Gregor Townsend admitted his final game at the club was tinged with disappointment after they lost 29-18 to arch rivals Edinburgh.

In an emotional farewell speech on the Scotstoun pitch after the final whistle he praised the fans who had supported the club so passionately during his five years in charge.

Later, he stated that he would have loved to have gone out on a high with a final-day win in front of a sell-out crowd of 7,351 who gave him a standing ovation.

‘Today, the overriding emotion at the result is disappointment but that will drift away,’ said Townsend, who now takes over as Scotland head coach.

‘I have the defeat at the front of my mind but that will fade and there will be even more reflection about how we’re going to miss the place as coaches.

‘As I leave, there is pride throughout everybody here about what the club has become and today’s another example of that. Brilliant atmosphere, excellent supporters and a stadium that looks fit for rugby.

‘I’ll love coming back here as a supporter, feeling like I’ve been part of how the club’s grown. I know I’ll enjoy watching them play because they will carry on playing attacking rugby next season.’

Townsend saw his team lose in front of Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha, who attended with Ibrox director Paul Murray, but praised

the way Edinburgh defended to frustrate his team.

‘We weren’t able to produce the quick ball we always aspire to and that was a lot to do with what Edinburgh were doing in defence,’ said the Warriors head coach.

‘Some of it not legal, which led to a number of penalties and two yellow cards but they kept us out well.

‘We made opportunities but we did not take them, nor did we make the most of the pressure we had, especially in the first half.

‘From an Edinburgh point of view, I thought it was a great game for them in terms of commitment. It was a team that really came here and wanted to get stuck in and about Glasgow.

‘They defended very well and their game plan was to compete hard for ball. They also took their chances well.’

Townsend revealed he would be looking closely at replays of the derby today with a view to naming his Scotland squad for the summer tour matches against Italy, Australia and Fiji.

‘I’ll be watching the game a couple of times — no longer to work out how we improve here at Glasgow but to see who played well from a Scotland point of view,’ said the incoming Scotland supremo.

Acting Edinburgh head coach Duncan Hodge was delighted to lead his team to a first victory away to Glasgow since 2003.

He agreed with Townsend that their defence was the rock on which they had built the victory.

‘Our defence was outstanding in tough conditions,’ said Hodge. ‘We had the crowd to deal with, the referee and sinbins, and they had a lot of ball. To stay in the game and come back when we did was excellent.

‘The way we held them in the first half, despite having two guys in the sin-bin gave us a lot of belief for the rest of the match.

‘We just kept going, kept defending. Credit to the players, they were outstanding.

‘In saying that, there is also a tinge of frustration because that performance, especially in defence, was a case of a bit too little, too late. Had they had some of that application and performed like that in some of our other games, we would have had at least a few more wins earlier in the season.’