The emotion and edginess removed after Saturday’s Scotstoun battle will mean more entertainment for the fans for the second leg of the 1872 Cup at Bt Murrayfield on Friday night, both coaches predict.
The first leg was a dour and often brittle affair with plenty of mistakes, Glasgow maintaining their three-year unbeaten run with a 16-6 victory to stay second in the Guinness PRO12.
However on the wide open spaces of the national pitch at Murrayfield, both Warriors coach Gregor Townsend and opposite number Alan Solomons are expecting a far more open game.
“I think there is always a bit more emotion in the first game,” said Townsend, who has yet to lose an 1872 Cup as Glasgow head coach.
“It opened up a bit on Saturday at the end of each half; whether it opens up more at Murrayfield will depend on the quality of the attack and whether the defences can be put under more pressure.
“You certainly get an advantage at Murrayfield with a wider and longer pitch and we just have to make sure that we are more accurate in attack.
“Although the first game maybe wasn’t great for the supporters to watch, there were a lot more hits and a lot of rugby played round the fringes. Both teams were defending very well and it will be interesting to see which team recovers better, which will be a big factor next week.”
Solomons felt his side committed too many turnovers to build an attacking platform in Glasgow, but is confident his team can turn around the 10-point deficit.
“Derby games, you’ve got to take your opportunities and give away nothing,” he said. “The one mistake we made in defence (for Josh Strauss’ try) made a massive difference to the outcome.
“We didn’t get the chance to play as much as we’d have liked because of the number of turnovers, so we didn’t show much of what we had planned attack wise.”
Greig Tonks, one of the few Edinburgh players to make a break on Saturday, is confident it will be different on Friday night and the deficit can be breached.
“Potentially given a slightly better surface at Murrayfield, both teams will move the ball around,” he said. “You might see a few more tries from both teams. We are pretty confident and it will be interesting.
“We’re not going to be disappointed if we just win the game, but if you get a win you’re always going to be trying to get that 10 point margin as well.
“It would put a little tarnish on it if you won the game but didn’t win the 1872 cup as well, but you can’t really look at it until you’re in a position to go for it. First things first – win the game.”
Glasgow meanwhile will want to see quicker ball and more pace in their game at the national stadium, said centre Peter Horne.
“Just before half-time at Scotstoun we were really excited about the second half, because we thought we were starting to get a bit of space and quicker ball and we were hoping to make more of that,” said the former Howe of Fife star.
“But after half-time Edinburgh did a great job of slowing down the breakdown and making a mess of it which kind of took the pace out of our game.
“Next week, on the big pitch at Murrayfield, we can hopefully get some quick ball and score some tries.”
Both clubs have injury problems from the first game, with Edinburgh’s Jack Cuthbert coming off with a leg injury, and Glasgow may be without their Scotland blindside Rob Harley, who suffered a knee injury.