Five things we learned as Edinburgh 'A' win latest inter-city clash

Edinburgh took the lead inside five minutes, Harri Morris collecting a deft offload to score. 

The visitors weathered Glasgow pressure before launching theor next attack, and should have made more of good field position after a strong carry from prop Mikey Jones. Ben Healy was clearly frustrated after half-back colleague Charlie Shiel went the wrong way and spurned an overlap.  

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• The coaches' verdict from Edinburgh vs Glasgow 'A' team clash

Edinburgh helped themselves to a second score when Lewis Wells went over following sustained pressure in the Glasgow 22, the winger put away by a lovely pass from Liam McConnell who found himself in the wide expanses.

Healy was wayward with the conversion, as he was with the first, but the visitors held a 10-point lead. 

Glasgow hit back just before half-time, several carries from the forwards eventually leading to hooker Angus Fraser going between the posts. Richie Simpson’s conversion brought the Warriors back into contention. 

And the Warriors were quick out the blocks in the second half, taking the lead inside the first couple of minutes when Fraser scored his second from a rolling maul. 

But Edinburgh hit back with two quick-fire tries, first Fin Thomson cut through some suspect Glasgow defending to score before Charlie Shiel picked up a loose ball and ran 60 metres to dive over. Healy’s conversions took the visitors out to 24-12.  

And Edinburgh sealed victory when Jack Brown squeezed over in the corner after lovely hands in the midfield.

From Scotstoun, here are five things we learned. 

Scotland stars making comebacks  

This was a useful outing for a couple of Scotland internationals making their way back from injuries. For the home side, Allan Dell played his first minutes of the season after an arm injury – though a lack of forward replacements meant the British and Irish Lions prop spent the majority of his time on the field in the back-row.  

For Edinburgh, Harry Paterson continued his return after playing against Bath’s second-string last weekend. While he did not hit top form, Sean Everitt will doubtless be pleased to see Paterson through another match unscathed.  

Edinburgh’s experience vital 

While Glasgow had Dell and scrum-half Sean Kennedy in their starting line-up, Edinburgh had superior experience with Ben Healy and Ross McCann joining Paterson and scrum-half Charlie Shiel in their side.  

Charlie Shiel helped control the game for Edinburgh, and took his try well (Image: SNS) And Edinburgh’s half-backs, barring one first-half miscommunication, had superior control of the game and  

Glasgow put themselves under pressure  

The home side had plenty of the ball but were guilty of overplaying inside their own half. Inaccuracies at the breakdown then handed Edinburgh opportunities and the visitors were, on the whole, clinical in the Warriors’ 22.  

When Glasgow kept hold of the ball, they caused Edinburgh problems, but two errors allowed the visitors to retake control early in the second half.  

Young age-grade stars stand out 

This match provided an opportunity for several Scotland age-grade caps to catch the eye of their respective pro team coaches, and there were some excellent performances. For Edinburgh, Liam McConnell showed his skills with a lovely pass for Wells’ try, while his U20 colleague Freddy Douglas was industrious at the breakdown.   

For the home side, Fergus Watson was lively at fullback until he limped off, while Ben Salmon and captain Duncan Munn were busy in the midfield.  

Important ‘A’ team games are meaningful  

When Scottish Rugby announced an expanded programme of ‘A’ team fixtures would replace Super Series, the concern was around the games being glorified training runs. This one was better than that, but only marginally so, with no fans permitted.   

Glasgow Warriors 'A': Fergus Watson, Kerr Johnston, Ben Salmon, Duncan Munn (captain), Logan Trotter, Richie Simpson, Sean Kennedy; Allan Dell, Angus Fraser, Fin Richardson, James Pow, Dan Halkon, Murray Oliver, Joe Roberts, Macenzzie Duncan 

Replacements: Jake Shearer, Callum Smyth, Callum Norrie, Rory Purvis, Brent Jackson, Matthew Urwin, Amena Caqasau, Kerr Yule, Johnny Ventisei, Aidan Cross 

Tries: Fraser (36, 42) 

Conversion: Simpson (37) 

Edinburgh 'A': Harry Paterson, Lewis Wells, Ross McCann, Findlay Thomson, Nathan Sweeney, Ben Healy, Charlie Shiel; Mikey Jones, Harri Morris, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Euan McVie, Rob Carmichael, Liam McConnell, Freddy Douglas, Tom Dodd (captain)  

Replacements: Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Ben White, Cairn Ramsay, Tom Currie, Conor McAlpine, Henry Kesterton, Nairn Moncrieff, Jack Brown 

Tries: Morris (5), Wells (24), Thomson (46), Shiel (53), Brown (68) 

Conversions: Healy (47, 54)