HARD HITTING VIEW

The SRU will be hoping against hope that the Omicron variant of Covid doesn’t lead to more restrictions in the coming weeks, as there is a tantalising pair of matches awaiting rugby fans over the festive season.

Edinburgh travel to Scotstoun for the first leg of the 1872 Cup a week tomorrow before Edinburgh host the Warriors at Murrayfield on Sunday, January 2.

It promises to be a fabulous pair of games, assuming both teams turn up wanting to play rugby.

Often derbies of this nature promise much but, because there is so much at stake, the quality of rugby fails to excite, even if the tension is palpable.

But both teams should come into the matches eager to show what they have to offer from an attacking perspective.

Edinburgh, who have a weekend off European rugby, will be buoyed by their phenomenal win against Saracens away from home.

That European match will go down in the club’s history as one of the most significant wins away from home and will surely reinforce Mike Blair’s growing stature as Richard Cockerill’s replacement.

Scotstoun should not hold quite the same fear for those Edinburgh players in a week’s time.

Glasgow, on the other hand, will take some comfort that they are coming into the game battle-hardened with some of their younger players eager to prove a point against much-vaunted opposition – Rory Darge against Hamish Watson, a head-to-head battle that will have many an onlooker interested.

Almost everywhere on the field, there will be some fascinating head-to-heads.

Established players will know they cannot afford to rest on their laurels, while the up-and-coming youngsters on both teams will be itching to show up well.

The matches last year were hotly contested and, until the final game at Scotstoun, nail-bitingly close and I would expect this year’s matches to be very similar.

With Gregor Townsend an interested spectator with the Six Nations around the corner, there will be places up for grabs in his Scotland squad, which always adds extra bite to the games.

The Scottish coach will be eager to see some flair in attack from both sets of backs, given the challenges that his national side faced in the autumn internationals.

Yet, with so much at stake, fear of losing could trump winning in style.

Personal reputations are on the line and the games often turn into battles between the two sets of forwards, with the backs interested spectators as the arm-wrestle takes place.

Hopefully, the two coaches will try to ensure that is not the case this year.

Hopefully, both Scotstoun and Murrayfield will be filled with fans of the game looking to enjoy a fine spectacle – it may be a case of “fingers crossed” on both fronts.

‘ There will be some fascinating head-to-heads