Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors: Richard Cockerill accuses of Danny Wilson of ‘getting his excuses in’

Jamie Ritchie returns to the Edinburgh side in a strong-looking back row alongside Hamish Watson and Bill Mata. Picture: Ross Parker/SNS

Richard Cockerill was up to his old tricks yesterday, nurturing a sense of grievance ahead of his Edinburgh side’s 1872 Cup clash with Glasgow at Murrayfield.

Warriors, he said, were the favourites despite their recent woes. They have a bigger budget than Edinburgh and, because of that, a deeper squad with some very good players.

The capital coach seemed unmoved by Glasgow’s travails which, in brief, include a Covid outbreak and a run of injuries which has deprived them of key personnel including Adam Hastings, Alex Allan, Fraser Brown, Leone Nakarawa, Tommy Seymour, Kyle Steyn and George and Pete Horne.

The lost list of absentees has been well aired and Cockerill, with a mischievous glint in his eye, accused opposite number Danny Wilson of “getting his excuses in” ahead of the match.

All is fair in love and war and derby matches and the inter-city fixture offers a chance for the Edinburgh coach to air his long-held contention that Glasgow remain the SRU’s favoured sons.

“It's Edinburgh against Glasgow so we are definitely not favourites,” he said. “The reality is that they are a good squad. They still operate on a bigger budget than Edinburgh so they should have a good squad.”

Asked if he had brought up the budget discrepancy with Mark Dodson, the SRU’s head honcho, Cockerill said: “Every time I speak to him! Those are private conversations. It is what it is, so I just want people to understand where we sit in it all.”

Where both clubs sit currently is second bottom of their respective conferences in the Guinness Pro14. It’s a far cry from recent seasons when we have become accustomed to at least one of our pro sides challenging at the right end of the table.

Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill, right, has had a little dig at his Glasgow counterpart Danny Wilson ahead of the 1872 Cup derby. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

The autumn showed that neither Edinburgh nor Glasgow can be truly competitive without their phalanx of Scotland internationals and it makes today’s derby match a scrap for points as the teams to look to climb the table and challenge for European places.

“I don't think Glasgow are a poor team in any shape or form,” said Cockerill as he pondered Wilson’s selection. “They should pick from strength because they have a deep squad and some very good players.

“We as a group here, both players and coaches, have never thought this is an easy game or an easy win. We respect them. They are a good team with very good players. Like ourselves, they have the odd body missing but that is a very good forward pack. And that backline – Huw Jones, Lee Jones, Grigg, Johnson, Tagive, Thomson, Price - it's pretty sharp.

“We expect a tough game. It sounded during the week that Danny was getting his excuses in, didn’t it?”